This undated photo provided by the Facebook group HelpAndrewOberle shows graduate student Andrew Oberle observing chimps. Doctors are reporting improvement in the condition of Oberle, who was attacked by chimps he was studying in South Africa. (AP Photo/HelpAndrewOberle)
This undated photo provided by the Facebook group HelpAndrewOberle shows graduate student Andrew Oberle observing chimps. Doctors are reporting improvement in the condition of Oberle, who was attacked by chimps he was studying in South Africa. (AP Photo/HelpAndrewOberle)
In this photo taken Feb. 1, 2011, chimpanzees sit in an enclosure at the Chimp Eden rehabilitation center, near Nelspruit, South Africa. A paramedic official says chimpanzees at a sanctuary for the animals in eastern South Africa bit and dragged a man at the reserve, badly injuring him. In a statement, Jeffrey Wicks of the Netcare911 medical emergency services company said the man he described as a ranger was leading a tour group at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden Thursday June 28, 2012 when two chimpanzees grabbed his feet and pulled him under a fence into their enclosure. The international institute founded by primatologist Jane Goodall opened the sanctuary in 2005. It is a home to chimpanzees rescued from further north in Africa, where they are hunted for their meat of held captive as pets. (AP Photo/Erin Conway-Smith)
This undated photo provided by the Facebook group HelpAndrewOberle shows graduate student Andrew Oberle sitting with a chimp. Doctors are reporting improvement in the condition of Oberle, who was attacked by chimps he was studying in South Africa. (AP Photo/HelpAndrewOberle)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Two adult chimpanzees that viciously attacked a U.S. student at a primate sanctuary in South Africa were defending their territory and will be allowed to live, the lead government investigator said Tuesday.
Conservationist Dries Pienaar blamed human error for Thursday's attack.
But one of the sanctuary managers, Eugene Cussons, said he did not blame Andrew F. Oberle for crossing between two safety fences to retrieve a rock that the chimps were in the habit of throwing at tourists.
Oberle was in critical condition and in a medically induced coma in the hospital by Monday night. On Tuesday, doctors refused to describe his condition saying the family, who had arrived from the United States, is asking for privacy.
Pienaar told The Associated Press that the chimps tore some fingers off one of Oberle's hands, among other injuries. This was "to my astonishment, I couldn't believe it because I know those chimps personally," he said.
He said he found no negligence on the part of the Jane Goodall Institute's Chimpanzee Eden SA in eastern South Africa.
"The only thing that happened is Andrew stepped over the small barrier fence and went right up to the electric fence," he said. "We all know that they are tame chimps, but he shouldn't have done that, he's a researcher, he's supposed to read the body language."
Oberle was leading a group of tourists at the time. The visitors were 10 meters (33 feet) from the second fence, as required by safety rules. After Oberle stepped over the first fence, the chimps dragged him under the electric fence and mauled him around the head and arm.
Cussons said he was happy that Pienaar's investigation found the chimps were involved in territorial defense and would not therefore be killed or punished.
He said he was forced to shoot one of the chimps, but not mortally, after he and a ranger failed to scare the animals into releasing Oberle, even when they drove a car at them.
Chimp Nikki, aged about 16, was injured in the abdomen and is being treated at the Johannesburg Zoo.
The other attacker, Amadeus, in its 20s, is on lockdown with his family at the sanctuary.
Pienaar, who has worked as a conservationist for 33 years, said he condoned the shooting, a last option under protocols that recommend first shock treatment or pepper sprays.
"Other than that I'm happy with things," Pienaar said. "I'm not having the chimps put down. I don't think there's reason for that."
Oberle is studying anthropology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. It was his second trip to study at the South African institute, which takes in orphaned and abused chimpanzees.
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On the Net:
Photo of Nikki at The Jane Goodall Institute South Africa: http://www.janegoodall.co.za/images/Nikki_Photo_David_Devo_Oosthuizen_All_Rights_Reserved.jpg
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Associated Press writer Emoke Bebiak contributed to this report from Johannesburg.
Associated Pressrampart jimmy fallon jimmy fallon nick collins marco rubio marco rubio wwdc
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