Parents of US chimp attack victim head to SAfrica
Jun 30, 2012, 10:22 PM
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The uncle of an American graduate student mauled by chimpanzees at a South African sanctuary says the man’s parents are flying from the U.S. to visit their critically injured son.
Carl Oberle of suburban St. Louis said his 26-year-old nephew, Andrew F. Oberle, remained hospitalized Saturday.
Officials say the University of Texas at San Antonio anthropology graduate student was badly injured Thursday when two chimpanzees pulled him under a fence while he was giving a lecture at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden.
Carl Oberle described chimps as his nephew’s “passion” and says he knew each animal by its “name and face.”
A conservationist who runs the sanctuary says investigators will have to wait until Oberle is well enough to provide details to try to determine what prompted the attack.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
