The Texas grad student mauled from head to toe and dragged for a half-mile by chimpanzees at a South African reserve was standing in a restricted area when he was brutally attacked, according to reports Sunday.
It was likely Andrew Oberle, 26, very presence that triggered two large male chimps to go after him during the frightening scene Thursday, sanctuary director Eugene Cussons said during a news conference. The attack occured at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden.
Oberle, an anthropology student at the University of Texas, was recovering after six hours of surgery Sunday. He had apparently crossed one of two fences while he was giving a lecture, and wasn’t authorized to be in the restricted area, according to reports.
Witnesses said the student had picked up a rock, presumably to keep the chimps from using it as a projectile. That’s when one of them grabbed his foot and pulled him under a second, electrified fence into their enclosure, msnbc.com reported.
Cussons described the territory Oberle was in as a “no go zone.”
It was the first time he was asked to give a lecture to visitors.
The sanctuary, near Johannesburg, was immediately put on lockdown during the attack.
Oberle reportedly lost part of an ear and fingers and had broken bones and torn ligaments. He was rescued and taken to a hospital in critical condition.
In a statement, Mediclinic said the victim was stable enough Sunday for doctors to bring him into the operating room to clean and stitch his bites and attend to fractures and other injuries.
Oberle, of St. Louis, remains in intensive care, but is no longer in critical condition.
“The doctors are satisfied at the moment … with the patient’s condition,” said hospital manager Carmen Savva, according to ABC News. “He’s responding better than expected.”
Oberle was on his second study visit to the sanctuary for abused and orphaned chimpanzees named after famed primatologist Jane Goodall.
Upon arriving to the scene Thursday via car, Cussons described how he fired a gun into the air to scare off the chimps who were attacking Oberle.
One of the animals, named Nikki, jumped onto the windshield, and Cussons said he fired through the glass, hitting the chimp. The other chimps moved away from Oberle, allowing rescuers to respond.
“The chimps were still out there. … (Oberle) was curled up in a little ball,” first responder Lloyd Krause told ABC News.
Cussons warned that chimps can be aggressive if they feel threatened. The attack was reportedly the first against a person since the sanctuary was formed in 2006.
“Everyone at Chimp Eden is hurting ,” Cussons added.
eortiz@nydailynews With News Wire Services
