A chimpanzee at an Australian zoo escaped from its enclosure, but returned to the exhibit on its own. The Taronga Zoo in Sydney said a contractor doing work at the facility spotted the male chimpanzee sitting calmly outside of its enclosure on Thursday morning.The zoo's emergency response unit was activated, but ended up not being needed, as the chimp returned to its enclosure a few minutes after it was seen by the contractor. The chimpanzee troop will remain off public display until conclusion of an investigation into how the animal managed to escape
The zoo's media relations department released this statement:
Taronga Zoo Sydney can confirm this morning at 5.47am a Taronga contractor observed a Chimpanzee calmly sitting just beyond the perimeter of the Chimpanzee exhibit.
The Taronga Zoo emergency response unit was activated immediately however no intervention was required as the Chimp made its own way back into the exhibit only minutes after being observed. The chimp is safe and well and is being monitored by our specialist keepers and vets.
Taronga has strict safety protocols in place for such an incident. All people on site were immediately directed to enter secure areas until the situation was resolved.
Emergency services were not required.
The Zoo remains open today however Taronga’s Chimp troop will remain off display until a full investigation has been completed.
Taronga is pleased to report that all people and animals, including the adventurous chimp, are all safe.
PHOTO: Getty Images