THE GR-APE ESCAPE!
Shock at the zoo after chimps use branch as a ladder to go sightseeing
GLEEFULLY scaling a broken branch, a cheeky chimp escapes from its pen at a British zoo.
It seized the opportunity to explore new territory by using the branch as a ladder after it was blown down in storms.
The animal wandered around the grounds – to the shock of visitors – while its less adventurous friends also climbed on the wall of their pen for a look around but didn’t risk going any further.
In video footage posted online, one child watching the spectacle can be heard exclaiming: ‘Don’t escape, you bad little gorilla.’
The unexpected close encounter happened on Saturday at Belfast Zoo, where two weeks ago a rare red panda got out when electric fences failed before being captured in a nearby garden.
Yesterday visitors described seeing the chimp emerge from bushes in front of them.
Chantal Baxter, who was at the zoo with her partner and their three small children, told Belfast Live: ‘We got a bit more than we bargained for as we were met by a chimpanzee who was taking a stroll through the zoo.
‘We didn’t feel any danger, but the kids got a bit of a shock. We rang the zoo itself to inform them and then headed for the exit.’ Danielle Monaghan, who was with her two children, her partner and his young nieces, expressed concern about safety.
‘I was petrified, having the kids, and I tried not to show fear but inside I was a bit like: What happens if it attacks us or tries to take the kids or runs over?’ she told the BBC. ‘But we just had to stay calm. It may have been a different story if it had been aggressive but it absolutely wasn’t. It made us feel at ease. We just walked past it.’
Her mother Elaine said: ‘Why weren’t the enclosures checked? This could have ended badly.’
The chimp eventually returned to its quarters by itself and the others climbed down off the wall. Zookeeper Alyn Cairns said: ‘They’re intelligent primates and know they’re not supposed to be out of their enclosure, so got back in themselves.’
Belfast City Council, which runs the zoo, said the enclosure was being assessed.