Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
NO MORE MONKEY BUSINESS
Calls for zoo review after yet another animal pulls off a great escape
BELFAST Zoo is under pressure to improve security after a chimpanzee scaled a wall and landed in front of stunned families.
Visitors posted videos of the animal out of its enclosure and wandering around public paths at the North Belfast site over the weekend.
The escape – using a felled branch from Storm Erik – comes two weeks after a red panda alert.
Cllr Julian Mcgrath called for robust measures and said: “It could have been a real disaster.”
BELFAST Zoo is facing calls to introduce “robust measures” after a second animal escaped in the space of a few weeks.
Alliance Party councillor Julian Mcgrath raised concerns after the “potentially dangerous” chimpanzee got out of its enclosure over the weekend.
The incident, which saw the animal wandering around the zoo, was captured on video by members of the public.
Last month, a red panda was found by a man in his North Belfast driveway after going missing for several hours.
Cllr Mcgrath said told the Mirror: “I find it very disconcerting that such a powerful and potentially dangerous animal got out of its enclosure.
“I have emailed and phoned the zoo, left a voicemail asking them to get back to me, but they haven’t as yet. I find this disappointing.
“I’m a little concerned with the general ‘frivolity’ around this incident which might let the zoo off the hook.
“While I don’t want to over-dramatise it as it all ended well, it was sheer luck it was not much more serious. My eightyear-old said had he seen the chimp he would have gone over to it.
“If a chimp had grabbed a young child and brought them into the enclosure it could have been a real disaster.
“That this has happened twice now in as many weeks, will inevitably be of concern for those who visit or for those who live in the vicinity of the zoo, including my area Glengormley.
“As a bare minimum, and as a matter of urgency, I’d like to see robust measures put in place to ensure this can never happen again.
“While the primary concern is the welfare of the public, there is also a concern for the safety of the animals themselves.”
Belfast City Council said staff at the zoo are investigating the incident.
A spokeswoman added: “A chimpanzee used a broken branch from a tree to briefly leave its enclosure this afternoon.
“Zookeepers were present as the chimpanzee was quickly returned from an adjacent wall to the rest of the group inside the enclosure.
“Staff are currently assessing how the chimp planned his escape from the enclosure, which is being assessed for storm damage and loose debris following the high winds overnight on Friday and into Saturday.
“Belfast Zoo would like to thank members of the public who helped raise the alarm as zookeepers moved in to return the animal to its enclosure.”
Chantel Baxter, from Larne, Co Antrim, captured a video and took photos of the incident on Saturday.
She’d been visiting the zoo with partner Gerard and their three children Emeli, Lottie and Logan.
She told the Mirror: “We got a bit more than we bargained for at Belfast Zoo today as we were met by a chimpanzee who had escaped from the enclosure and was taking a stroll through the zoo.
“It’s fair to say we got our money’s worth. We didn’t feel any danger, but the kids got a bit of a shock. We rang the zoo to inform them then headed for the exit.”
Dean Mcfaul also captured footage of the chimpanzee on the loose. He was at the zoo with his partner Danielle, her kids Leo and Grace and his nieces Summer and Willow.
Dean said: “It was an amazing experience to be honest. I was a wee bit scared for the kids. It was an unreal moment.”