Chester Zoo Stories from the zoo
- Thread starter LeeMac13
- Start date
In 1987 a female Hamadryas Baboon escaped and I was one of the interested onlookers who saw her recaptured in a tree in what is now the Asian Plains enclosure. This tree was at the top left of the exhibit.
Another escape that I witnessed was a male Crimson-winged Parakeet in the bird house in 1975 or 1976. Visitors were locked inside the long passageway so that no one entered or left and provided the bird with an escape route. He was quickly netted.
Another escape that I witnessed was a male Crimson-winged Parakeet in the bird house in 1975 or 1976. Visitors were locked inside the long passageway so that no one entered or left and provided the bird with an escape route. He was quickly netted.
Everyone knows the story of the original Asian elephant bull 'Nobby' - he had to be shot when he got into the fields outside the zoo.
There was also a female chimp 'Gloria' who crossed the moat of one of the original islands, I think she suffered the same fate.
There was also a female chimp 'Gloria' who crossed the moat of one of the original islands, I think she suffered the same fate.
taun
Well-Known Member
Different times then, but that option would still be used today if they couldn't safely dart the animals or return it to its cage.
Scenario -They would probably be very nervous from the unfamiliar space and seek refuge in the nearest shrubbery. They would most likely only attack someone if they were approached to the extent their personal space was invaded. Every effort would be made to clear the area of people without spreading mass panic. They would probably then be successfully darted by a zoo marksman and returned under sedation to their enclosure.
Unfortunately most sedatives take time to work- in an animal which is being actively dangerous- like a rampaging elephant or chimpanzee it may be necessary to stop the behaviour immediately by shooting it dead.
taun
Well-Known Member
And the fact that the animal probably has lots of adrenalin pumping around its body meaning the sedative may not work or take longer to have any effect, putting human lives at risk.
The majority of major disasters are due to a number of contributory factors. While the suitability of the enclosure and its strength is important, procedures have to be followed and animals can be pretty unpredictable at times too. Many zoo escapes involve the human factor somewhere along the line, doors left unlocked/open etc or protocols being overridden due to equipment failure without full consideration of a safety implication.
Then theres the ingenity of the animal itself:
"For one dexterous octopus, an attempt at a great escape turned into a great flood Thursday at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California.
The female California two-spotted octopus swam to the top of her tank, disassembled a valve with her powerful arm, and released at least 200 gallons (757 liters) of seawater into nearby exhibits and offices.
The foot-long (0.3-meter) creature remained in her tank and survived her ordeal. But the aquarium's brand-new floors weren't so lucky.
Such high jinks are typical of the invertebrates' still unexplained smarts, experts say.
"Octopuses have a wonderful combination of intelligence, tremendous manipulative ability, curiosity, and strength," said Jennifer Mather, a psychology professor at Canada's University of Lethbridge who has studied cognition in octopuses.
"So the result is that everybody who has ever kept octopuses has a string of stories about how octopuses can go where they want in aquariums."
Unbelievably Brainy?
Many octopuses show behavior that suggests curiosity, consciousness, and even a sense of humor, said Eugene Linden, author of the 2002 book The Octopus and the Orangutan: More True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity.
In one instance, an octopus given a slightly spoiled shrimp stuffed it down the drain while maintaining eye contact with its keeper, Linden said.
Wild octopuses have also been found to maintain "homes" and can remember where they've been in their neighborhood, pointing to a sort of self-awareness, Lethbridge's Mather said.
But it's hard to directly prove that octopuses are intelligent.
A smart animal that has the lowly clam for a cousin already "flies in the face of conventional wisdom of where you look for intelligence," Linden said
Also, many scientists believe that intelligent beings are social, learn from others, and need a long lifespan to accrue brainpower.
Octopuses live only about a year and are solitary animals.
"It's enjoyable to speculate that nature doesn't always follow our rules [when] it decides to create an intelligent being," Linden said.
Fast Decisions
The University of Lethbridge's Mather suggests octopuses may have evolved braininess to cope with a highly complex environment—usually coral reefs—where they must make lightning-fast, life-or-death decisions.
For example, the animals are extremely flexible, able to fit their boneless bodies through tiny cracks. Some species can change color in a thirtieth of a second.
(Watch a video of an octopus squeezing through a one-inch hole.)
As for the crafty cephalopod in Santa Monica, aquarium staffers have rigged her tank with clamps and tape to thwart future getaways, the Los Angeles Times reported.
But, as Mather pointed out, there "isn't an awful lot [that will] stop them.""
Certainly the most lethal of all the Cats, possibly of all zoo animals. They naturally wait in ambush for their prey, and yes, they always attack. There have been several deaths of people in zoos resulting from them.
An attempt was made to dart Nobby but he was heading for the A41 and it was considered too dangerous to try and dart him, so he was shot.
On one occasion a tree blew down in a storm and partially demolished the tiger fence, when staff arrived the two tigers were right at the back of the enclosure, showing signs of stress caused by this unexpected invasion of their territory. This was in the days when they were left out at night.
On one occasion a tree blew down in a storm and partially demolished the tiger fence, when staff arrived the two tigers were right at the back of the enclosure, showing signs of stress caused by this unexpected invasion of their territory. This was in the days when they were left out at night.
Maisie
Well-Known Member
There has been one fatality of an elephant keeper that I know of, and possibly another injury, but that's relying on my rather hazy memory. I don't know of any other injuries, although I'm sure kicks, scratches and bites happen from time to time - it's an occupational hazard of working with animals!
There is a memorial outside the elephant paddock regarding that incident.
It was 8 years ago and I think the elephant was named Kumara (?)
One keeper had a tooth knocked out when he was transferring Axis Deer to the Asian Plains enclosure. Another keeper was once bitten by a rattlesnake, not seriously though.
Regarding visitors I was bitten by a male Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl on day, does that count. I also saw a child get bitten by a pygmy goat when the public could mix with the farm animals.
I also had my finger licked by a black-winged lory. That was weird.
Regarding visitors I was bitten by a male Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl on day, does that count. I also saw a child get bitten by a pygmy goat when the public could mix with the farm animals.
I also had my finger licked by a black-winged lory. That was weird.