An American student of primatology remains in a coma after six hours of surgery after its members were "plucked" in an attack by two chimpanzees at an animal sanctuary in South Africa.
Andrew Oberle, 26, a student at the University of Texas-San Antonio, was attacked and dragged under a fence this weekend in the Chimp Eden sanctuary, which is a joint venture with the Jane Goodall Institute in Nelspruit in the east South Africa.
There are conflicting reports about the severity of his injuries. His sister, Elizabeth Sosa of San Luis, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Oberle lost his ears, all toes and an arm in the attack.
His uncle Carl Oberle tells the Associated Press that his nephew did not lose an arm in the attack, but two members were "plucked".
Oberle said was placed in an induced coma "because he lost much blood and his blood pressure was very low."
"I do not know if he is out of it, however," says Carl Oberle. "He needs to get his back up power, so they can do more surgeries."
Eugene Cussons, director of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, says the animals became aggressive when Oberle tried to retrieve a rock from inside their enclosure, according to NBC News.
He said that witnesses reported seeing Oberle rise through a fence outside a "forbidden zone", and stuck on a rock inside a fence. At that time, a chimpanzee reaching under the fence, grabbed the foot Oberle and dragged about 100 meters, Cussons said, according to NBC News.
Andrew Oberle, 26, a student at the University of Texas-San Antonio, was attacked and dragged under a fence this weekend in the Chimp Eden sanctuary, which is a joint venture with the Jane Goodall Institute in Nelspruit in the east South Africa.
There are conflicting reports about the severity of his injuries. His sister, Elizabeth Sosa of San Luis, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Oberle lost his ears, all toes and an arm in the attack.
His uncle Carl Oberle tells the Associated Press that his nephew did not lose an arm in the attack, but two members were "plucked".
Oberle said was placed in an induced coma "because he lost much blood and his blood pressure was very low."
"I do not know if he is out of it, however," says Carl Oberle. "He needs to get his back up power, so they can do more surgeries."
Eugene Cussons, director of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, says the animals became aggressive when Oberle tried to retrieve a rock from inside their enclosure, according to NBC News.
He said that witnesses reported seeing Oberle rise through a fence outside a "forbidden zone", and stuck on a rock inside a fence. At that time, a chimpanzee reaching under the fence, grabbed the foot Oberle and dragged about 100 meters, Cussons said, according to NBC News.
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