* Victim loses fingers in attack at abused chimps sanctuary
* Chimps can be aggressive if they feel threatened -expert
JOHANNESBURG, June 29 (Reuters) – An American graduate
student is in hospital in South Africa after being badly mauled
by two large male chimpanzees who attacked him as he stood close
to their enclosure in a sanctuary for abused chimps, the
sanctuary director said on Friday.
The victim lost several fingers and was dragged down by the
chimpanzees in the attack on Thursday at the Jane Goodall
Institute Chimpanzee Eden near the northeastern town Nelspruit.
Chimp Eden, a joint venture with the ape conservation
institute founded by renowned U.S. primatologist Jane Goodall,
is a sanctuary for ill-treated chimpanzees rescued from the
illegal pet and bushmeat trades and from the entertainment
industry.
Sanctuary director David Oosthuizen said the injured
student, whom he did not name, was from the University of Texas,
San Antonio (UTSA), and was studying for a masters degree in
Anthropology and Primatology.
He was working as a guide and was with a group of tourists
at an enclosure holding adult male chimpanzees when he was
attacked by two of the larger males, called Mickey and Amadeus.
“The guy was just too close to the fence, they tried to pull
him in,” he told Reuters. Sanctuary staff moved quickly to
rescue him and move the visitors to safety. The victim was
rushed to the nearest hospital and was being treated.
Asked what might have triggered the attack, Oosthuizen said
abused chimps were very like abused children. “Chimps in the
wild go into a frenzy … something just snaps,” he said.
Continued…
