JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A paramedic official says chimpanzees at a sanctuary for the animals in eastern South Africa bit and dragged a man at the reserve, badly injuring him.
In a statement, Jeffrey Wicks of the Netcare911 medical emergency services company said the man he described as a ranger was leading a tour group at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden Thursday when two chimpanzees grabbed his feet and pulled him under a fence into their enclosure.
Wicks says the man had “multiple and severe bite wounds” and was dragged nearly a kilometer by the chimpanzees.
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Local media reported the man was an American researcher.
The international institute founded by primatologist Jane Goodall opened the sanctuary in 2005. It is a home to chimpanzees rescued from further north in Africa, where they are hunted for their meat of held captive as pets.
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