Animal reportedly shot with
tranquiliser dart after zoo said it was ‘managing an incident’
Kevin Rawlinson
and agencies
Thursday 13 October 2016 18.52 BST
Last modified on Friday 14 October 2016 12.01 BST
London zoo was placed under
lockdown on Thursday after a gorilla escaped from its enclosure.
Armed police were called to the
central London attraction and visitors were evacuated as keepers tried to
recapture the animal.
But Malcolm Fitzpatrick, curator
of mammals at the zoo, described the escape of Kumbuka as a “minor incident” in
which the male gorilla got into a secure keeper area that was not open to the
public.
Fitzpatrick said the western
lowland had been tranquilised before being returned to the Gorilla Kingdom,
where he was “up and grumbling and interacting with the rest of his gorilla
family”.
He added: “It was a safe, secure
keeper area, so at no time did he actually get out into the zoo.
“At no time were any of our
visitors in any danger. The gorilla did not get out of the safe space, there
were only about 100 visitors, it was the end of the day and I would like to
thank all of those visitors for co-operating and moving in to buildings.”
Fitzpatrick said keepers would be
staying on into the evening to check up on Kumbuka and giving him his
“favourite treats”.
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