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    Texas Student in Critical Condition After Vicious Chimp Attack

    A Texas graduate student is in an induced coma today in South Africa, a day after being mauled by chimpanzees in what one witness called "the worst animal attack I've ever seen."

    Andrew Oberle, a 26-year-old studying anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio, was leading a tour at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden near Johannesburg Thursday when reports say he left the group and crossed one of two fences separating him from the animals.

    When he neared the second fence, which was electrified, two chimpanzees reached underneath and pulled him by his feet into their enclosure.

    Oberle was attacked by the animals and dragged half a mile before armed guards and staff members were able to enter the enclosure and rescue him.

    "The chimps were still out there. ... He was curled up in a little ball," Lloyd Krause, an ambulance service manager who entered the enclosure to remove Oberle, told ABC News today.

    Oberle, who suffered from severe bite wounds, underwent surgery at the Mediclinic hospital in Nelspruit, 180 miles from Johannesburg, according to The Associated Press. He is now in critical condition.

    In a statement, the Goodall Institute said, "This is a terrible tragedy that should never have happened. ... All our thoughts and prayers are with this young man and his family."

    The university said in a statement today that "our hearts go out to Andrew and his family."

    His mother, Mary Flint of St. Louis, told the AP today that he'd been in South Africa since May and that he'd passionate about chimpanzees since the seventh grade when he'd seen a film on Goodall.

    David Oosthuizen, the institute's executive director, said the sanctuary had been closed temporarily after the attack. Edwin Jay, the institute's chairman, said the two chimpanzees involved in the mauling would be returned to the enclosure after an investigation into the incident.

    The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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    539 comments

    • eric  •  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  •  7 hrs ago
      I'm always amazed at how easily people forget how dangerous wild animals are. Feel really bad for the young guy. hope he makes it ok.
      • Pete 7 hrs ago
        Well the constant reminder of 2 fences, one being electrified placed between people and the animals should be enough....DUH!!
      • Manoj 3 hrs ago
        This is to Andrew & especially his family memebers for going through such tough times. I personally feel that Andrew should have not lost his presence of mind even for a second because there is a famous (maybe, isolated) case of a vicious Chimp attack that took place in Connecticut couple of years back. The lady victim had her face brutally ripped off & has undergone many extensive facial reconstructive surgeries post the attack & only recently after one of her surgeries did she say that she had started to regain partial facial expression though slowly. The reason that I am sharing this information with all of you out there is if Andrew has been passionate about Chimpanzees since the seventh grade ever since he did see a film on Jane Goodall, but he should have definitely come across the Connecticut story during his study about Chimps throughout these years. Well the only thing we could all do now is to pray heavily for a speedy recovery
      • Steve and Donna 2 hrs 54 mins ago
        is there such thing as a non VICIOUS attack? and what do we call the attack when we go into the jungle and scoop up these animals and bring them here and put them in a cage?
    • D  •  8 hrs ago
      This is sad but a large majority of people who arent even studying animals knows chimps are dengerous, agressive and strong. There were obviously two fences for a reason.
      • Mench 7 hrs ago
        You forget they are also very intelligent! that "electrified" fence didn't stop them now did it?
      • Nick Nguyen 6 hrs ago
        What the HECK? Why did he cross that fence? was he trying to get some attention from the media? well, not to be mean or rude but he dig his own grave by doing that.
      • Debi 6 hrs ago
        oh how horrible. i hate monkeys. they seemed to work as a vicious team grabbing his feet and dragging him in, they are getting smarter. the ugly vicious little monsters are capable of horror, they can rip hands, ears, face right off the body.
    • Scott H  •  Kansas City, Missouri  •  2 hrs 50 mins ago
      This gives me a new idea about what to do with child molesters
      • Hot Shoes 1 hr 29 mins ago
        It shouldn't. Doing so would be cruel to the chimpanzees.
      • Mike 29 mins ago
        yeah not paying attention anywhere can get you killed
      • Frank 28 mins ago
        Send those monkeys down to be guards at Guantonomo Bay Terrorist Prison!
    • SimpleMan  •  Providence, Rhode Island  •  3 hrs ago
      Uhhh..Dude 2 fences for a reason...
    • Peaches  •  2 hrs 53 mins ago
      From watching the program on Animal Planet...the chimps at this sanctuary are all victims of man....and were subjected to a lot of cruelty, torture and torment from humans...and like I read in an earlier post as Eddy Murphy said...it's a chimp being a chimp.......they ARE wild animals
    • Sheikh_Yabootie  •  Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania  •  1 hr 49 mins ago
      "Edwin Jay, the institute's chairman, said the two chimpanzees involved in the mauling would be returned to the enclosure after an investigation into the incident."
      Why were they arrested? The "grad" student tresspassed into their enclosure, case closed!
      • Verminius Rex 40 mins ago
        I can see the headline now, "South African Chips Use Stand Your Ground Defense".
      • Frank 26 mins ago
        They should have called the Security Guards on him, monkeys have a say in their housing you Know!
      • Dick Shun 19 mins ago
        Will F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, and Johnny Cochran be representing the Chimps? If found guilty, will the monkeys be spanked?
    • just Donald  •  3 hrs ago
      They have the two fences for his protection and he knew he was not to cross over them.
    • Jason  •  3 hrs ago
      So, why in the hell did he cross over the first fence?
    • CameronS  •  Burlington, Canada  •  2 hrs 3 mins ago
      People need to realize that Tarzan, Las Vegas shows, and the circus acts aside, chimps are brutal, dangerous animals that should not be trusted. In the wild they pack hunt other monkeys, tear them to shreds and eat them in a kind of cannibalism.
    • A sinful man  •  Reading, Pennsylvania  •  3 hrs ago
      So he has been fascinated by chimps since the 7th grade eh, I wonder if this event has cured his fascination.
    • Don  •  2 hrs 30 mins ago
      I feel bad for this idiot, but this is natural selection at it's finest. He had no business crossing any fences.
    • Angel  •  Jersey City, New Jersey  •  9 hrs ago
      Something does not make sense...why would he leave the group while giving a tour?
    • dor  •  2 hrs 57 mins ago
      another chimp lover wins darwin award
    • Deane  •  Cape Girardeau, Missouri  •  9 hrs ago
      I'm glad most Yahoo commentors get this issue. The media hasn't been working as hard as they could to sensationalize this story, but they've used phrases like "the chimp lost control" or "the chimp turned against its trainer". To modify a quote from Eddy Murphy, "That chimp didn't lose or turn anything, that chimp turned chimp!"
    • Bob  •  1 hr 3 mins ago
      Under a picture of two men the caption says "Texas student". Yahoo, which one is the student? Why can't you get even the simplest details right?
    • Alrighty then.  •  3 hrs ago
      I may not be a grad student but I am smart enough to know to stay out of reach of a chimps reach.
    • Shadowhawk  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  3 hrs ago
      A animal is a animal period and if they wear a fur coat anything can happen. I think chimps are cool but I have heard about their attitudes and strength.. They have shown peeps on TV whom been attacked by chimps......ouch they can do some serious damage.
    • Richard  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  7 hrs ago
      Why did that student cross one of those fences that separated him from the chimps in the first place? There's a reason those fences are there. Geez, you'd think a grad student would be smarter than that.
    • hillbilly81  •  15 mins ago
      hey group..check this out... see how close i can get...aaarrrrgg
    • Statreno  •  42 mins ago
      After hearing about that woman in Conn. that had her face ripped off and the guy (in Cali. I think) that had his testicles ripped off by chimps no frickin way would I ever even consider trying to get closer to any by crossing a fence that's there to prevent contact. I feel bad for the guy but that's just stupid.
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