Jane Goodall Institute chimpanzee mauling at South Africa sanctuary leaves American critical

Chimpanzees sit in an enclosure at the Chimp Eden rehabilitation center near Nelspruit, South Africa, Feb. 1, 2011. / AP Photo

Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET

(CBS/AP) Chimpanzees at a Jane Goodall Institute sanctuary for animals in eastern South Africa mauled an American graduate student working there, prompting the institute to temporarily close the sanctuary.

"This is a terrible tragedy that should never happen," David Oosthuizen, the institute's executive director in South Africa, said in a statement. "All our thoughts and prayers are with this young man and his family."

The institute's statement said the American was studying anthropology and primatology at The University of Texas at San Antonio. The institute didn't release his name.

The man was leading a tour group at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden near Nelspruit, some 180 miles from Johannesburg, Thursday when two chimpanzees grabbed his feet and pulled him under a fence into their enclosure, Jeffrey Wicks of the Netcare911 medical emergency services company said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

Mediclinic Nelspruit, the hospital where he was taken, said Friday he was in intensive care in critical condition after undergoing surgery Thursday.

The man had "multiple and severe bite wounds" and was dragged nearly a half mile by the chimpanzees, Wicks said.

According to the institute, the tourists were escorted to safety by staff members, which included Eugene Cussons, who hosted a cable television show about the sanctuary called "Escape to Chimp Eden."

Beeld, a South African newspaper, reported Friday that the sanctuary's director fired into the air to scare the chimps away from the man, and then chased the animals back into their enclosure. Beeld reported the man lost part of an ear and parts of his fingers.

"The safety of our visitors and staff is paramount," Oosthuizen said in the statement. "We have never had an incident like this, and we have closed the sanctuary to investigate how we can try to ensure it will not happen again."

(Below, watch a profile of Jane Goodall that CBS' "60 Minutes" broadcast in 2010)

Jane Goodall returns to her chimps in Tanzania
Lara Logan talks about her profile of Jane Goodall
Video: Why Goodall went to Africa

The international institute founded by renowned primatologist Jane Goodall opened the sanctuary in 2006. It is a home to chimpanzees, which are not native to South Africa, rescued from further north in Africa. Some of the chimpanzees at the sanctuary lost their parents to poachers in countries where they are hunted for their meat, and others were held in captivity in cruel conditions as little more than roadside attractions.

In the United States this week, lawyers for a Connecticut woman who was attacked in 2009 by a friend's chimpanzee filed papers accusing state officials of failing to seize the animal before the mauling despite a staff member's warning that it was dangerous. The chimpanzee ripped off the woman's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being killed by police, and the woman was blinded and has had a face transplant.

[ezrider12]

From what I've heard, he went into a sealed off area, which was restricted for humans. If that is so, it is a terrible tragedy. Chimpanzees are as dangerous as any wild animal. Would you go into a den with lions or tigers?

[audemus]

The only way you can assure this never happens again is for people to stop playing with wild animals.

[randomites]

Maybe we should start eating chimps. That would show them who's boss.

[ezrider12]

Um, you do realize as there is a theory this is how HIV virus was transmitted to humans?

[formerlyluvnut]

The lesson here; don't pizz off a monkey. Duh.

[djseavy]

While I wish the victim only the best, this incident begs the question: why was he close enough that they could reach under the fence and drag him away? While the sanctuary serves a very necessary purpose, and has saved the lives of many primates, the residents are - and always will be - wild animals. I don't care how well behaved they are and how closely they bond with humans, they're still wild and instincts will eventually take over. It's vital, as the young man found out, to be on guard at all times and make certain you're in a safety zone. People who are probably afraid of their neighbors will get close enough to a chimp to have it destroy them. Let your guard down, and situations like this happen.

[interested5461]

They pulled him under a fence into their cage?! Wow, maybe it's not such a good idea for us to be teaching primates. Apparently these ones are dangerously smart. Scary.

[knewsteerrrrr]

The human "exceptionalism" kick gets slowly chipped away as science discovers and reveals animals are just like us and were not so special as we thought!

[KnowerseekerReturns]

Except for that we form governments, laws, and morals -- unlike these monkeys. And we spurn those who eat raw meat, especially off of still-living creatures.