WARNING: Graphic and distressing content. St. James Davis was savagely attacked by two chimps at the animal sanctuary where his beloved ‘son’ Moe lived
“It looked like a grizzly bear attack,” remarked a first responder, describing the carnage.
But St. James Davis’ horrifying injuries had not been inflicted by a 600lb beast. The former NASCAR driver had in fact been set upon by two crazed chimpanzees, who had somehow got out of their cage before launching a savage attack.
St. James was visiting Moe, a chimp he had raised from a baby, at an animal sanctuary in California when the attack happened. March 3, 2005, was Moe’s 39th birthday and St. James and his wife LaDonna arrived with gifts and treats.
The three of them were just about to eat Moe’s birthday cake inside the great ape’s enclosure when two younger male chimps, Buddy and Ollie, appeared. Seconds later, one of them charged at the couple.
Instinctively, St. James tried to protect his wife, but one of the chimps banged into them, knocking them both to the ground. LaDonna told the Los Angeles Times: “As we were falling, the chimp came back around and bit my finger off. There was no time to run.”
Hero St. James pushed his wife under their picnic table and faced the chimps. One of them bit into right eye socket then gouge out his eye with a finger. The ape then sank his teeth into the St. James’ nose, ripping it off, while the other chimp bit his hand.
At 6ft 2ins tall, St. James was a big, strong man. He fought back, courageously, but still he was no match for the animals. Clawing at him, frenziedly, they tore the skin off his face. One of the chimps bit his skull and mouth, tearing off his lips and knocking out teeth. Next, one of them gnawed at his left foot, leaving a gaping hole.
The chimps had been mauling St. James for more than five minutes and showed no signs of stopping as they bit the man’s buttocks and severed his genitals. Sanctuary owner Virginia Brauer, sprayed the chimps with a water hose, but it had little impact.
Eventually, her son-in-law, Mark Carruthers, shot the younger chimp with a .45-caliber revolver, but even that failed to stop the attack. Mark returned with more powerful ammunition and shot the older chimp in the head, killing him.
In the meantime, the wounded younger chimp had dragged St. James’ mutilated body around 30ft towards a car park. He was still gnawing at the man’s body when Mark shot him dead, bringing an end to the attack.
Poor Moe was found cowering in a corner of his cage, visibly traumatised by what he’d witnessed. LaDonna described the scene as “pandemonium” while Kern County fire captain Kurt Merrell told the Los Angeles Times: “I had no idea a chimpanzee was capable of doing that to a human. It looked like a grizzly-bear attack.”
After the attack, St. James spent six months in hospital, some of it in a coma. Over the subsequent four years, he underwent more than 60 surgeries. His face was almost unrecognisable. All that was left of his nose was a red patch with slit-like holes. A prosthetic nose held in place by magnets constantly fell off.
He had a glass eye fitted in place of the one that was gouged out and was left with a downturned mouth after surgeons’ best efforts to reconstruct it. His shattered bones simply could not support his skin.
St. James lost most of his fingers in the attack and needed a wheelchair to get around after his foot was so badly damaged. In 2009, he told Esquire: “I can’t do anything on my own any more, except sit around like a potted plant.”
He told the magazine he was awaiting further reconstructive surgery on his mouth, as well as dentures and prosthetic fingers. He also faced the very real possibility of his foot being amputated.
An investigation later found that Buddy and Ollie had got out of their cage after one of the sanctuary’s owners failed to properly lock its doors. St. James didn’t have health insurance and opted not to sue the facility because it didn’t have liability insurance.
Experts said the chimps could have been jealous of the attention Moe was getting or simply defending their territory. It was speculated that they could have been traumatised by abuse at the hands of humans.
The connection between St. James and Moe began in 1967, nearly 40 years prior to the assault. St. James had travelled to Tanzania, on the east coast of Africa, after leaving his then-fiancée LaDonna at the altar. While there, he took part in a hunt and witnessed a chimp being killed after giving birth. It had a profound effect on him.
The next day, he took it upon himself to look after the orphaned baby chimp. He left the ship he’d been on and spent the next few weeks nurturing the infant ape, then known as Mogambo.
He eventually managed to get a flight home to California. Moe sat on his lap for the entire 19-hour flight. When he touched down, LaDonna, still angry at being jilted at the altar, was waiting for him. The couple rekindled their love and LaDonna grew fond of Moe. When St. James and LaDonna got married in 1970, Moe served as best man.
In 1971, St. James and LaDonna faced a battle to keep Moe, a wild animal in the eyes of the authorities. A court case, dubbed the ‘monkey trial’ made Moe a celebrity and was ultimately dropped, with the chimp being made an honorary citizen of West Covina. He was often seen at NASCAR events with driver St. James.
But some years later, in the late 1990s, Moe was involved in two incidents, first injuring a police officer who was trying to trying to recapture him after he got out of his enclosure and then biting a woman who put her hand into his cage.
Moe was taken to an animal sanctuary, where for the next five years St James. and LaDonna could have non-contact visits only. In 2004, he was moved to Animal Haven Ranch, Bakersfield, where they could finally hug him again.
He was given his own cage alongside seven other primates who had been rescued from zoos or circuses. St. James and LaDonna visited every week and spent hours playing happily with Moe.
Just a year later, the savage attack took place. By 2007, St. James was mobile enough to visit Moe again. The chimp had been moved to a ranch for performing animals, Jungle Exotics, in San Bernardino. But in 2008, he broke out of his cage, fleeing the ranch.
A huge search operation was launched, lasting several weeks. Helicopters and dogs were used during the hunt for Moe. There were several possible sightings, but he has never been found.
In 2009, LaDonna told Esquire: “He was brought up to use his brain, to always make decisions. I’m hoping that wherever Moe is, he’s making good choices for himself.”
St. James added: “I can talk for days about Moe. I just miss him so much. I’ve never loved anything as much as I loved Moe.” Sadly, St. James died in 2018 after a cardiac arrest. He was 75.
