Indianapolis Zoo confirmed it had to shut its doors temporarily in order to get the primate back into its cage, but the monkey was now back under control after being “sedated”
A chimpanzee has caused chaos at a zoo after it escaped from its enclosure. The entire premise had to be put on lockdown after the ape went missing, but was able to be located and brought back after being sedated.
During the bizarre incident at Indianapolis, Zoo in the US state of Indiana, the animal sent visitors into a frenzy as many tried to hide in their cars. Some couples even hid inside the dolphin exhibit in the zoo, as emergency services were called to deal with the incident.
This, however, is not the first time that the Zoo has had problems with its chimps as just eight months ago, one of the monkeys bit the boss in another high-profile incident.
Nevertheless, this chimp’s bid for freedom was less successful. Fire crews in Indianapolis were alerted to an incident taking place at the zoo at around 10am local time on Friday (November 14).
They received numerous calls to help save visitors who had become stranded whilst hiding for the primate, according to Fox News. Visitors were told by staff at the zoo to shelter somewhere out of danger whilst emergency crews were able to attend to the escaped monkey.
According to local media, the chimp is named Mara and is described as being a “curious and active” monkey. Mara first arrived at Indianapolis Zoo back in 2023, having been a lone monkey living in a zoo in Puerto Rico.
After some initial teething problems, Mara soon settled into her new surroundings, as zookeepers said: “Everyone at the Indianapolis Zoo is committed to ensuring that Mara has a great life here. She creates a new bed each night with fresh clean blankets and hay and loves her fruits and veggies,” they added.
“She will be well loved and cared for and will soon be part of a great community of chimpanzees!” WISH TV reporter Hanna Mordoh later confirmed that the zoo was able to find the missing monkey and eventually return her to her enclosure.
According to testimonies, she had to be sedated so that they could catch her and retrieve her, all whilst state police attended. “The zoo says everybody is safe,” Hanna explained in a video she uploaded to her social media.
“They found the chimpanzee, sedated her and returned her to her exhibit.” No injuries were subsequently reported for neither humans nor animals.
Moreover, the zoo has since remained closed as investigations get underway as to how the monkey could have escaped so easily. However, this is not the first monkey-related incident to take place at the zoo this year.
Back in March, the animal centre confirmed that its CEO had been the target of one of the animals, biting him in his buttocks. According to local media, boss Rob Shumaker had been feeding the primate through a mesh barrier in its enclosure when it struck.
It is believed that the chimp bit his finger whilst carrying out a routine feeding, resulting in him being taken away to be checked over for the bite. He was later treated for his injury and later recovered.
Following the attack, the bite was reported to the local Association of Zoos and Aquariums, on the orders of Shumaker himself, a primatologist. The zoo is aware of potential incidents with monkeys, as it houses on of the largest habitats for chimps in the US.
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