Chimpanzee escape at Furuvik

felis silvestris said:
Jeez that’s not the sort of news you want to hear :eek: How far did they get before being shot?
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Information in media is a bit confusing at the moment but as I understand it, none of them left the park. Media now report that five of seven chimps escaped, four have been shot, three of them died and one is injured and treated by vets. The last one returned to the enclosure by itself. The park's spokesperson said that they didn't have enough drugs to sedate them all and therefore made the decision to shoot them instead.
 
Update, the four surviving chimps are now enclosed in their house, they are not in their enclosure but are in their house. Earlier reports about the injured chimp being treated was wrong, it is in the house with the other three and cannot be reached by vets for treatment.
 
This is a massive shame (although I don't think there's much else they could've done). I've heard that chimps tend to be kill-on-sight in many zoos - do we know if Furuvik does that practice as well; or, were they really intending to tranquilize in the first place when most regard these animals as too dangerous to keep alive?
 
dinosauria said:
This is a massive shame (although I don't think there's much else they could've done). I've heard that chimps tend to be kill-on-sight in many zoos - do we know if Furuvik does that practice as well; or, were they really intending to tranquilize in the first place when most regard these animals as too dangerous to keep alive?
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There’s been a line in the media that there wasn’t enough tranquilliser to cover all of them; but I’ve also heard that staff were unable to (safely) get near them to tranquilise them - which seems more likely.

Most zoos class chimpanzees, big cats etc. as their highest risk which means shoot to kill; however this is a last resort and carried out only when there’s a risk to human lives. Taronga wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot their lions that recently escaped had there been a risk to human lives, but since they could be safely contained/tranquilised, this was done instead.
 
Furuvik has recieved massive critics from both experts and the public for shooting the chimps as the first alternative and not even trying other alternatives first (especiallt for shooting the three year old Torsten). Their former keeper who has worked with them for over 30 years and had been accepted as a member of the group (she was able to go inside their enclosure and interact with them), has offered her help but has been refused.

The situation has now been solved, the three living chimps (Maria-Magdalena, Selma and Tjobbe) are now enclosed in their enclosure again. Selma is injured in her eye and is not able to move one of her arms. Why she is injured is not clear as she is not one of the chimps that were shot. Four chimps are now confirmed dead after being shot; Linda, 42, Torsten, 3, Santino, 44 and Manda, 19. Linda, Torsten and Santino were shot to death immediately while Manda was shot and injured. After laying on the floor inside the house for over 48 hours without treatment she is now also confirmed dead.
 
Anton said:
Furuvik has recieved massive critics from both experts and the public for shooting the chimps as the first alternative and not even trying other alternatives first (especiallt for shooting the three year old Torsten). Their former keeper who has worked with them for over 30 years and had been accepted as a member of the group (she was able to go inside their enclosure and interact with them), has offered her help but has been refused.

The situation has now been solved, the three living chimps (Maria-Magdalena, Selma and Tjobbe) are now enclosed in their enclosure again. Selma is injured in her eye and is not able to move one of her arms. Why she is injured is not clear as she is not one of the chimps that were shot. Four chimps are now confirmed dead after being shot; Linda, 42, Torsten, 3, Santino, 44 and Manda, 19. Linda, Torsten and Santino were shot to death immediately while Manda was shot and injured. After laying on the floor inside the house for over 48 hours without treatment she is now also confirmed dead.
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Thank you for the update, the English articles I've been seeing said they were still loose. Truly awful in so many ways :(
 
TinoPup said:
Thank you for the update, the English articles I've been seeing said they were still loose. Truly awful in so many ways :(
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I agree with you :( The main problem for me (and for most Swedes I believe) is that they shot the chimps immediately and didn't try any other methods first. Even the Jane Goodall Institute has critizised the shooting. The park says that it was danger for human lives so they had no other option but to shoot, but the park was closed and all staff was in safety in a building.

There has been some more information now from the park about what happened (the information has been changed several times since the escape so it might change again). The chimps escepd from their enclousure in some way (not clear how they did yet) and reached the staff-area in the chimp-house. Linda and Torsten opened a door and walked out of the house. They were found in the tivoli area where they were shot. When it was discovered, shooters were positioned around the chimp-house. Santino and Manda (one at a time) opened windows at the roof of the house and were both shot when still inside the house. Both fell down into the house and Santino died immediately while Manda was only injured. She was found dead two days later when staff finally entered the house. Is unknown for how long she was alive after being shot.
 
Anton said:
I agree with you :( The main problem for me (and for most Swedes I believe) is that they shot the chimps immediately and didn't try any other methods first. Even the Jane Goodall Institute has critizised the shooting. The park says that it was danger for human lives so they had no other option but to shoot, but the park was closed and all staff was in safety in a building.

There has been some more information now from the park about what happened (the information has been changed several times since the escape so it might change again). The chimps escepd from their enclousure in some way (not clear how they did yet) and reached the staff-area in the chimp-house. Linda and Torsten opened a door and walked out of the house. They were found in the tivoli area where they were shot. When it was discovered, shooters were positioned around the chimp-house. Santino and Manda (one at a time) opened windows at the roof of the house and were both shot when still inside the house. Both fell down into the house and Santino died immediately while Manda was only injured. She was found dead two days later when staff finally entered the house. Is unknown for how long she was alive after being shot.
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I find it especially tragic a three year old chimpanzee was shot.

When Taronga Zoo (who manage a community of over 20 chimpanzees) were moving their entire community between exhibits, they simply netted the three year old juveniles they had at the time as an alternative to darting them like they did the adults. These weren’t tame chimpanzees and they put up resistance, but it was more than possible without any risk to the staff involved.

It feels like a shoot to kill order was followed in this instance without an awareness of the relative lack of risk a three year old juvenile would pose compared to an older juvenile of five years or six years, an adolescent or an adult.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I find it especially tragic a three year old chimpanzee was shot.
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I totally agree with you, that was my though immediately, why don't just catch him with a net? The CEO told media that the three year old could be a possible danger to humans and therefore was shot.

I found an article from a Swedish newspaper where they say that the park has recieved critics from both EAZA and the Swedish Work Environment Authority for insufficient safety regarding the chimps. Furuvik-vd medger brister i säkerhetsarbete
 
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