OMEN
03-05-2009, 10:24 AM
Armed offenders squad (AOS) members were called out in Hamilton today after a chimpanzee escaped from a zoo.
Luka, Hamilton Zoo's youngest male chimp, escaped into the service area, not accessible to the public, by opening the spring-latch on the door about 10.40am.
Zookeeper Catherine Nichols saw Luka in the service area and activated the zoo's emergency procedure to deal with a "dangerous" animal outside of its enclosure.
This included calling in the AOS and the onsite firearms handler.
The public and about 30 Genesis Energy staff working in the chimpanzee's outside enclosure were cleared from the area, access ways were blocked and the zoo veterinarian summoned.
Zoo director Stephen Standley said Mrs Nichols and other zoo staff safely reopened the door between the service area and enclosure and enticed Luka back into the enclosure about midday.
Luka did not leave the service area and at no time was there any risk to the public, he said.
"While Luka was contained in the service area during the incident, it was critical to apply full security measures."
The double lock had not been secured on the door and the chimp's curious nature led it to manipulate the spring lock.
"We will now be reviewing the incident to identify important learnings and how security of the enclosure can be further enhanced," he said.
Occurrences like this were extremely rare but were why emergency procedures were in place, Mr Standley said.
- NZPA
Luka, Hamilton Zoo's youngest male chimp, escaped into the service area, not accessible to the public, by opening the spring-latch on the door about 10.40am.
Zookeeper Catherine Nichols saw Luka in the service area and activated the zoo's emergency procedure to deal with a "dangerous" animal outside of its enclosure.
This included calling in the AOS and the onsite firearms handler.
The public and about 30 Genesis Energy staff working in the chimpanzee's outside enclosure were cleared from the area, access ways were blocked and the zoo veterinarian summoned.
Zoo director Stephen Standley said Mrs Nichols and other zoo staff safely reopened the door between the service area and enclosure and enticed Luka back into the enclosure about midday.
Luka did not leave the service area and at no time was there any risk to the public, he said.
"While Luka was contained in the service area during the incident, it was critical to apply full security measures."
The double lock had not been secured on the door and the chimp's curious nature led it to manipulate the spring lock.
"We will now be reviewing the incident to identify important learnings and how security of the enclosure can be further enhanced," he said.
Occurrences like this were extremely rare but were why emergency procedures were in place, Mr Standley said.
- NZPA