Two chimps left to burn
THE burned bodies of chimpanzees Kip, 39, and Jolly, 32, were found in their enclosure at Twycross Zoo in September 2015.
A faulty thermostat sent the temperature of underfloor heating soaring to more than 110F (43C). The awful conditions led to both chimpanzees having heart attacks and they were found dead by zookeepers in the morning.
Initially, the zoo said the animals had not died because of the heat in their enclosure.
But documents seen by the Daily Mail show an official report from an environmental health officer in April last year confirmed ‘heat stress’ led to Kip and Jolly suffering heart failure.
The zoo often issues press releases on animal deaths but did not do so after the chimps were found. However, while the independent report found heat had contributed, it added: ‘The thermostat failure could not have been predicted and there were no reasonable measures the zoo could have taken to prevent the incident.’
Twycross Zoo, in Warwickshire, is famous for providing the chimpanzees used in the popular PG Tips adverts for 40 years.