Chimp attacks volunteer at sanctuary

Chimpanzees, those pint-sized, animal versions of ourselves, enjoy an enviable reputation among the human crowd. Intelligent and photogenic, they are crowd-pleasers at zoos and sanctuaries across the world.

On Friday, one of them attacked.

Andrea Maturan, a 21-year-old volunteer at the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary, was hospitalized with serious injuries after being attacked by a 10-year-old female chimp named Shawn.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Maturan was cleaning the cage of two chimps when the primates escaped from the secondary cage where they had been placed during the cleaning.

Shawn began mauling Maturan, the sheriff's office says. The two struggled, eventually winding up outdoors. Maturan briefly escaped and ran back into the cage.

The chimp followed.

The attack continued until Maturan finally managed to lock herself in a bathroom.

Sanctuary handlers secured the two chimps in their cage. Workers asked everyone to leave the facility and placed it on lockdown. Deputies said they were called by someone who had been asked to leave the sanctuary.

The Suncoast Primate Sanctuary is at 4612 Alt. 19 in Palm Harbor. Its Web site says it cares for primates rescued from a variety of situations and each has "unique backgrounds and personalities."

"Most of them were rescued from deplorable conditions," the Web site says. "Some were even abandoned in the parking lot. Others, such as the bear, a former dancing bear, would have been euthanized without intervention.A few fortunate animals were lucky enough to have found the Sanctuary where they could live the rest of their lives in peace."

Florida Fish and Wildlife investigators say the chimps weren't kept securely when their cage was being cleaned. "A locking mechanism was not secured properly. They also should have had the animals shifted to another night house altogether," said Lt. Steve De Lacure from Florida Fish and Wildlife.

He says normal procedure involves two locked doors. Instead, he said Maturan only used one locked door, and the animals slipped under a sliding partition.

Maturan has bites on her neck, backside, elbow and lower leg, as well as scratches on her back. She underwent surgery Friday evening at Hellen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs.

The sanctuary's Web site lists the names of 21 chimpanzees at the property.

Shawn is described on the sanctuary's Web site as gentle and affectionate. A photo of Shawn shows her using a paint brush to create primate art.

Maturan told investigations she wants to hold a news conference some time next week, where she plans to take full blame for what happened.

Sanctuary officials could not be reached for comment.

It's almost impossible to find the reason behind the attack without knowing the animal and the situation, says Patti Ragan, director of the nonprofit Center for Great Apes in Wauchula.

"All animals with teeth bite, whether it's a pet snake or a dog or a horse or an exotic animal like a big cat or chimp," Ragan said. "It's like trying to say why one person mugged another without knowing who that person was or what in their background caused that."

Ragan said chimps might look cute but are surprisingly strong, even a relatively young animal like Shawn.

"Even as a juvenile they are so strong that it would be very difficult to have an equal situation between a human and a chimp," Ragan said.

She also noted that attacks by chimps are rare. It's far more common, she said, for a person to suffer a serious attack by a dog than an exotic animal such as a chimp.