A Southern California man who was attacked by a chimpanzee four years ago in Kern County was forced to relive his horror when a similar attack happened to a 55-year-old Connecticut woman earlier this week.

A 200-pound pet chimp named Travis gained national attention after he mauled Charla Nash on Monday.

St. James Davis understands the pain that Nash is now going through. Davis was seriously injured in a chimp attack at an animal sanctuary in Havilah, east of Bakersfield. He, like Nash, suffered severe facial injuries.

Davis lost much of his face and several fingers and his foot was severely damaged. It happened when chimps at the Animal Haven Ranch attacked Davis and his wife on March 3, 2005.

"It's so shocking," said Davis, sitting in a wheelchair during an interview this week with KCAL news in Los Angeles. "Especially a face injury. I had mine peeled to one side — my nose, my mouth, my teeth, my tongue."

Davis has been through a number of surgeries since his attack.

On Thursday, the victim from Connecticut was moved to the Cleveland Clinic, according to Associated Press reports. That's where the nation's first face transplant was performed two months ago.

A hospital spokeswoman said Nash is being treated for trauma to her face and lower extremities after she was attacked by her friend's chimp. It's unknown why Travis the chimp attacked Nash. Police shot Travis when he went after them.

Davis and his wife were attacked while visiting their chimp, Moe. Four other chimps from the sanctuary escaped their enclosure. Two male chimps attacked Davis before they were shot and killed by the sanctuary owner's son-in-law.

In an exclusive report, Eyewitness News went back to the sanctuary a year later to learn about the attack from the sanctuary owner, Virginia Brauer.

Brauer was housing Moe and five other chimps when Davis and his wife were attacked. The animals were kept in a special compound, with gates and fencing.

"When chimps reach a certain age, they can not be kept in homes — they're wild animals," Brauer said Thursday in a new interview with Eyewitness News.

Brauer said that the "teen years" for chimps are their most dangerous. The chimp from the Connecticut attack was 15 year old.

Brauer said her facility had special trap doors and many other safety devices for precaution.

"We try to do everything possible," Brauer said. "But there's always a chance they can escape."

In the 2005 incident, Kern County investigators decided the other chimps at the sanctuary had figured out how to open a gate, and that's how they got out. The Kern County District Attorney's office decided there was no wrongdoing on the part of the sanctuary operators, and no criminal charges were filed.

Brauer is still operating Animal Haven after starting it in 1985. She took in chimps after Lion Country Safari closed down. Brauer said the animals she takes in are too old to work in Hollywood or to be pets.

Chimps Ollie and Buddy were shot and killed because of the attack. Chimps Suzy, Ace and Bones survived. Brauer said Suzy later died at the age of 59. Ace is now 29 years old, and Bones is in her 40s.

Moe came to Animal Haven after there were problems with him at the Davis' home in West Covina, near Los Angeles. Moe had bitten off part of a woman's finger.

Four years after he was attacked, Davis said he's still haunted by his experience.

"All of a sudden, I woke up," Davis said. "I couldn't see, I go to touch my face, and I didn't have the fingers to do so."

Brauer said her heart goes out to the victim in the latest attack.

"You can not ever, ever, ever forget they're a wild animal," said Brauer about chimps.