Johannesburg • 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 when two chimpanzees grabbed his feet and pulled him under a fence into their enclosure.

Wicks says the man had "multiple and severe bite wounds" and was dragged nearly a kilometer by the chimpanzees.

Local media reported the man was an American researcher.

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.