chimps escape (and killed) at Oasis Park

[Chlidonias]

Canary Islands zoo primates escape and attack three staff members | Daily Mail Online

28 June 2015

Chimpanzee rampage: Chaos at Canary Islands zoo after primates escape enclosure and attack three staff members

The three rescue animals escaped at the Oasis Park in Fueteventura
Called King, Cheeta and Felipa, they attacked three staff members
Two of the chimps were shot dead by police, while the third survived
The park said that the incident was the saddest day in its history


British holidaymakers were caught up in chaotic scenes at a zoo in the Canary Islands when three chimpanzees escaped their enclosure and attacked and injured three people, one seriously.

The three rescue animals - called King, Cheeta and Felipa - went on the rampage on Friday at the popular Oasis Park in Fueteventura, with police eventually having to shoot them with live ammunition after attempts to tranquilize them failed.

Two of the chimps, King and Felipa, were killed, while Cheeta survived after emergency treatment from vets.

The three injured were a park staff member and two of the owners, one of which was airlifted to a hospital in Las Palmas and given plastic surgery, according to the zoo.

It said in a statement that human error was to blame, with the animals escaping after ‘an incident in the security protocol’.

The park owners, it’s understood, fearlessly tried to lead the chimpanzees away from the public and back into their enclosure.

The chimps, who had been at the park for over 20 years, were all shot with tranquilizer darts, but when it was clear that they hadn’t had any effect, police turned their guns on them.

On Sunday the zoo, which recently received a TripAdvisor certificate of excellence, reported that Cheeta was ‘eating by herself… and even seeking contact and closeness with [her caregivers]’.

The three team members who were injured are reportedly in a stable condition.

The park, which reopened on Saturday, described the incident as ‘the saddest day in the history of Fuerteventura Oasis Park since it opened its doors in 1985’.

It added: ‘We've not had a second to stop and internalize what happened. So we ask you a little bit of empathy because we can assure you that this is very difficult for us.’

King and Cheeta were rescued in 1988 from a street photographer while Felipa was saved from animal traffickers by the Service for the Protection of Nature.

 

[OrangePerson]

This is horrible, isn't it the second time chimps have escaped in the Canary Islands in a few months?

Oh, I've checked, I beg their pardon, it was Majorca.

Really people, check how secure your chimps are

 

[Chlidonias]

where it says "... human error was to blame, with the animals escaping after ‘an incident in the security protocol’...", that sounds very much like somebody left a door unlocked.

 

[OrangePerson]

where it says "... human error was to blame, with the animals escaping after ‘an incident in the security protocol’...", that sounds very much like somebody left a door unlocked.

Devastating for someone to make that mistake, I'd spend half my day going back and checking locks if I were a keeper. Still if they've got a second line of defence they could get out, but not OUT, which has happened at both Twycross and Chester in the last few years I recall.

 

[Chlidonias]

Devastating for someone to make that mistake, I'd spend half my day going back and checking locks if I were a keeper. Still if they've got a second line of defence they could get out, but not OUT, which has happened at both Twycross and Chester in the last few years I recall.

I'd say even more personally devastating for the person involved (if that is what happened) because they would know they were directly responsible for the chimps' deaths. Really sad situation all round.

With your last sentence, do you mean chimps have got out through one door at Twycross and Chester, but were retained by a second door? Or the opposite, that at those zoos chimps also got out completely?

 

[OrangePerson]

I'd say even more personally devastating for the person involved

That's what I was saying really!

With your last sentence, do you mean chimps have got out through one door at Twycross and Chester, but were retained by a second door? Or the opposite, that at those zoos chimps also got out completely?

On both occasions the chimps got out of where they should be but were always within a secure area.

Panic for 5,000 visitors at Chester Zoo as 30 chimpanzees escape enclosure

Ice cream and fizzy drinks avert mass chimpanzee escape bid at Twycross Zoo

Both appear amusing in the retelling (the Chester chimps cause much less damage than you'd imagine but the kettle turned up outside some time later) but must be terrifying, not just for your own safety (and the public's) but fear of the consequences for the chimps if it escalates.