4 escaped chimps shot dead in Sweden

STOCKHOLM — Officials at a Swedish zoo managed to get three chimpanzees who had broken out of their enclosure back into a secure space, but four others were shot dead. The zoo’s chief said the animals were killed as a last resort.

The Furuvik zoo said in a statement Saturday that the surviving animals are now being looked after and one who is injured is receiving veterinary care. The three chimpanzees have received food and drink but they need to be treated with antibiotics, Sandra Wilke, CEO of Furuvik zoo, told local newspaper Gefle Tidning on Sunday.

The condition of the injured animal, named Selma, who sustained injuries to an arm and one eye is better than feared, the newspaper said.

The apes had escaped on Wednesday, with some of them making their way out of the monkey house where they lived. Officials were forced to shoot them because of the danger to the public. Two were shot in the zoo grounds and one was confirmed dead inside the monkey house. When keepers were finally able to get inside on Saturday, they found the body of a fourth chimp.

“When they got out of the chimpanzee house, people’s lives were in danger both in the park and the public outside the park. Then it becomes a critical situation and there are no other options than shoot to kill,” Wilke earlier told Swedish news agency TT.

The Furuvik zoo is located near Gavle, 100 miles north of Stockholm. It is part of an amusement park. According to the park’s website, it is also the only primate research station in the Nordic countries.