CHIMPANZEES may share almost 99 per cent of our DNA - but there is one thing that clearly sets them apart from humans: pure brute strength.
Humans have suffered horrific injuries at the hands of the apes - which are estimated to be around four times more powerful than man.
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Horrific pictures reveal what can happen when chimps attack - with some being pets which turned on their owners, zoo animals which went rogue, or even random attacks in the wild.
And it comes as for the first time ever, scientists revealed they have witnessed wild chimps killing and eating gorillas.
Researchers fear such fatal encounters could be down to climate change and diminished food supplies.
But attacks on humans have long hit headlines, leaving victims with lifelong - and life-changing - injuries, with these being some of the most shocking acts of chimp violence.
CHARLA NASH
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When Charla Nash was savagely mauled by her friend's pet chimpanzee, it was a wonder she survived at all.
In 2009, the then 50-year-old went to visit her pal Sandra Herold in Stamford Connecticut, where she had raised her pet chimpanzee Travis for most of his life.
But the chimp - who weighed more than 200 pounds - viciously attacked her.
Travis used his huge primate teeth to tear off Charla’s hands - before attacking her lips, eyelids, eyes, and nose.
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By the time emergency responders got to the scene, there was very little left of her face, with doctors later having to reattach her jaw.
In a desperate bid to save her friend, Sandra picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed her pet chimp.
When help finally arrived, Travis approached the police car, attempted to open the door, and bared his mouthful of bloody fangs before officers shot him dead.
Charla has since undergone numerous surgeries to reconstruct her face through pioneering medical procedures.
ST JAMES DAVIS
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Rewind back to the 1970s, and St James Davis and his wife LaDonna were just like any other married couple - only instead of a baby, they raised a chimp.
St James returned to California from a trip to South Africa with the chimp, Moe, in 1967 and planned to keep him for a few years, but he ended up becoming an integral part of their family for the best part of three decades.
But after Moe bit a police officer in 1998 and a woman the following year, authorities took him away from St James and, after a long custody battle, he ended up at the Animal Haven Ranch.
The devoted couple visited their would-be son regularly, and on March 3, 2005, they went to celebrate his 39th birthday.
But as they enjoyed cake under a sunny sky, two young chimps suddenly broke free from their cage and viciously attacked them before being shot dead.
LaDonna escaped with just a thumb lost - but her husband suffered catastrophic injuries and was hospitalised for six months.
St James, then 62, tried to defend himself and his wife from the brutal attack, but after having his nose bitten off, fingers chewed off and right eye gouged out, he fell to the floor where he was mauled for at least five more minutes.
One of the chimps bit off his genitals while his left foot was ravaged, before his screams finally drew the attention of the owner's son-in-law, who shot them dead.
Dunia Sibomana
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While the majority of attacks have been from chimps in captivity, one Congolese boy was left severely disfigured after being set upon by wild chimps.
In 2014, and just six-year-old, Dunia Sibomana was playing with his cousin and four-year-old brother near a nature reserve in the Congo when a group of chimps launched a terrifying attack.
While his two young relatives were killed, Dunia survived but was left with life-changing facial injuries.
His lips were ripped off, his cheek was torn apart and he was left with muscle damage that made it hard to swallow or communicate.
Two years later, in 2016, the youngster was taken to New York underwent a rare reconstructive surgery at a Long Island hospital.
ANDREW OBERLE
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Back in 2012, then aspiring primate researcher Andrew Oberle visited South Africa from the University of Texas to do research for his master's on chimpanzee tool-use behavior.
While leading a tour at the Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Eden near Johannesburg, he stepped into a restricted zone before two chimpanzees hauled him under an electric fence.
Though he fought to fend them off, the pair managed to pull him 30 metres before unleashing a savage attack, mauling his body from head to toe.
Andrew lost part of his scalp, both ears, his nose, most of his fingers and part of his feet.
He also suffered a collapsed lungs, with chunks ripped out his wrists, back and legs - and he instantly underwent six hours of surgery.
Andrew now serves as the director of development for theOberle Institute, a trauma care program at Saint Louis University.
BROGOITTI ATTACK
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Just last month, a chimpanzee that had lived on a family ranch in Oregon for 17 years was shot dead after it attacked a 50-year-old woman.
Owner Tamara Brogoitti's daughter was mauled by the 200 pound ape, named Buck, with him biting her legs, arms and torso.
Tamara and her daughter took shelter in a basem*nt bedroom following the attack and when cops arrived, Buck was roaming around a fence surrounding the house and so Brogoitta gave them permission to shoot him.
In audio of her call to police, obtained by KHQ-TV, Tamara can be heard saying: "She needs an ambulance. The ambulance can not get to her. I've locked myself in the basem*nt with her.
"I can't get out to get my own gun. She's bleeding profusely. I've never seen anything like this."
UGANDA RAMPAGE
In Uganda, habitat loss for chimps sparked brutal conflict between humans and apes in recent years.
Chimpanzees have been raiding crops, threatening livelihoods and attacking humans.
The problem was highlighted by National Geographic in 2019, including an incident that saw a chimp snatch a two-year-old boy from his mother before breaking his arm, attacking his head, ripping his abdomen open and removing his kidneys.
He died on the way to hospital.
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Since that attack in 2014, attacks on children have continued, with at least three more deaths and six more injuries or narrow escapes.
Read More on The US Sun
No one knows for sure why the chimps are attacking children but both curiosity and predatory reasons have been blamed.
One of the main factors behind the problem is that a large number of chimps have lost their natural habitats to farming throughout western Uganda.
Woman whose face and hands were ripped off by pet chimp says she's grateful to be alive
