Man Attacked by Chimps at Sanctuary Returns Home

Nearly six months after being mauled by two chimpanzees, a West Covina man returned home Tuesday after undergoing multiple reconstructive surgeries and spending weeks in a coma.

St. James Davis, 62, was welcomed home by his tearful wife, LaDonna, and greeted with a round of applause from friends and neighbors.

“He’s come a long way,” said LaDonna, 64, at a news conference outside the couple’s home with their attorney, Gloria Allred. “In reality, when this first happened, I thought this would take longer than six months.”

Davis and his wife were attacked March 3 while visiting the couple’s pet chimp, Moe, at the Animal Haven Ranch in Kern County. The couple had gone to the private sanctuary to celebrate the chimp’s 39th birthday.

While they were standing outside Moe’s cage with a birthday cake, two other male chimps escaped from their cages and attacked them.

The animals chewed off most of St. James Davis’ face and fingers from both hands, and tore off his foot. He lost his right eye. LaDonna Davis’ left thumb was bitten off.

On Tuesday, as St. James Davis was wheeled on a stretcher into his home, he waved -- his right eye bandaged and just a thin veil of skin for a nose -- and thanked the crowd of supporters. He is scheduled to have two surgeries next week, and will continue to undergo rehabilitation treatments and counseling, Allred said.

“I think we all feel good he’s alive,” his wife said.

She thanked the public for the outpouring of support and praised the staff at Loma Linda University Medical Center for “giving back St. James to me.”

Allred described St. James Davis as a fighter who had survived despite many medical obstacles.

“I and many others admire him for his fighting spirit,” she said. “We are thankful for this day and look forward to the future.”

The attack has not changed the couple’s devotion to Moe, said LaDonna Davis, adding that her husband harbors no ill feelings toward the chimps that attacked him.

After biting off part of a woman’s finger, Moe was taken from the Davis home in 1999 and placed at the Wildlife Waystation in the Angeles National Forest. He was moved to the Animal Haven Ranch in 2004.

“It’s like people; it’s like human nature -- you have the best of us and the worst of us, and that’s the same in animals,” LaDonna Davis said.

Neighbors and friends said St. James Davis was lucky to be alive. “It’s great that he survived,” said family friend Steve Peterson, 44, his eyes welling with tears. “I’ve been waiting to talk to him.”

Allred would not say whether the Davises planned legal action against the animal sanctuary. The owner has asked state authorities to find a new home for Moe.

But neighbors such as Darryl Davis believe that Moe’s home is with the couple.

“The safest place for Moe is right in his backyard,” said Davis, 43, who is taking part in a petition drive to help return the chimp to the couple’s care. More than 100,000 signatures have been gathered, he said.