Animal Escapes. » Whipsnade Zoo

Animal Escapes.
08-10-2007

This has been in the news again with the recent Chimpanzee escape at Whipsnade and Bokito the Gorilla in Rotterdam. There must be others people know about too. A few examples to start off;

London Zoo- 'Goldie' the Eagle.(1950's?) On the loose for about ten days.

Chester. Nobby the Indian Elephant Bull- had to be shot.
Gloria, a female chimp, crossed the moat. was shot.
Puloh male Orangutan- got onto house roof- recaptured.

Causeway Safari Ireland. 3 male chimps. Shot.

Dudley- Gorilla (Bukhama/Bonzo) - inside service passage only.

Dartmoor WP. wolf?

Howletts- a Nilgai once escaped and landed on a passing car I believe.

Okehampton wildlife Park(?) Porcupines- became feral breeders in the immediate area for some years.

South Lakes- coatis as mentioned.

08-10-2007

A vulture at Blackbrook escaped, and was recaptured.

Azara's agouti at Chester, in the miniature monkeys. They were then moved into mythical macaws.

08-10-2007

edinburgh zoo 2 sealions got out many years ago, found swimming in the water of leith, another sealion escaped from longleat a few years ago managing to swim about 13 miles found in a lock in a town centre nearby. Many years ago i think a polar bear got out of its enclosure at whipsnade, found in a paint store, all colours of the rainbow.

08-10-2007

Also ring-tailed lemurs and a rhino from South Lakes - see the South Lakes thread.

08-10-2007

I've been in Chester Zoo when they've had some escapes.

Crimson-winged Parakeet
Some small bird in the old bird house (now closed), can't remember the species but visitors were shut in while the keepers tried to recapture it, unsucessfully if I remember.
Red-necked Wallaby
Hamadryas Baboon. She was a young female who escaped because she was being bullied, she managed to find a safe place at the top of a tree opposite the elephant enclosure. She was successfully darted and recaptured. Eventually she was sent to another collection.

08-10-2007

Oh yes and when I was at Cotswold a couple of weeks ago there was a white-cheeked turaco flying around in a tree above the aviary. It seemed more interested in re-joining its companions inside that any thought of escape!

08-10-2007

Chessington used to have a Violet Turaco that had got out flying round the zoo.Wasn`t aware that the Azares Agouti had escaped from M.Monkeys at Chester but did know that they lost 5 to a fox in their.As for South Lakes their was the Macaw that was shot dead by a youth with an air rifle flying over Barrow.

08-10-2007

This has to be the best 'escape' story so far....

(I should think a Polar Bear on the loose is a frightening prospect though)

08-10-2007

A quick search on google throws up quite a few reported escapes!

Juan, a male spectacled bear at Berlin Zoo, used a log as a raft to cross the moat around his enclosure, then tried to commandeer a bicycle before he has tranquilised.

The squirrel monkeys at London Zoo breached their enclosure earlier this year by leaping into a tree in neighbouring Regents Park.

A jaguar escaped at Dartmoor Zoo in October 2006, jumped on to the roof of the tiger enclosure and began fighting one of the animals. This was four days after the current owners had moved in. The zoo did not have a tranquiliser gun (!!!) and it was 17 hours (!!!) before a trained person arrived from West Midland Safari Park (wouldn't Paignton or Bristol have been closer???) to sedate it.

Maverick the eagle owl escaped from his enclosure at Edinburgh last December after the roof was blown off in a storm. He had to be rescued because he was being mobbed by the local birdlife.

On a more sad and serious note, Marwell had an escaped Amur leopard in 2003 which was tranquilised but unfortunately died.

09-10-2007

Yes, she somehow managed to squeeze through the space where the cage roof surrounded a large tree growing in the enclosure, and so climb the tree. Unfortunately after darting she fell badly and died as a result. They altered the roof design afterwards.

Two(or one?) Jaguar escaped at a Zoo in France a few years back by digging their way out. It happened while the zoo was open and tragically I believe they killed at least one child. I know they are regarded as just about the most lethal 'escapee' as they will always attack.

09-10-2007

A Keeper at Bristol Zoo mentioned whilst doing a talk about the Red Pandas that the Pandas at Belfast had escaped.

I remember reading somewhere about the Wallabies escaping from Chester Zoo.

Dartmoor's Coati has escaped twice aswell. So have South Lakes. Plus Deer + wallaby from Whipsnade.

Prairie Marmots escaped at Twycross in the early days aswell.

Chimpanzees, Toucans, Black Bears, Elephants and Polar Bears have all escaped from London at one point aswell.

09-10-2007

Belfast lost a Colobus Monkey for several days- he was driven away by others in the group. I think he was exported later on...

Can you elaborate on any of the London escapes, especially the larger animals?

09-10-2007

Chimpnzees - Mentioned in a book i have his name was Chollomly or something

Polar and Black Bears - Mentioned in the same book. Book was written by the zoos former vet, the bears escaped from the Mappin Terraces, in the 70's i think. I'll check for the date.

Elephants - My Aunt told me when i was a small child that when she was visiting London Zoo as a child, the elephnat escaped an she was forced into the Reptile House.

Whipsnades Cranes also escaped at one point.

09-10-2007

You can add Paignton Zoo to the list of zoos that have had Red Pandas get out,also have seen a Black and White-ruufed lemur outside the zoo permitter fence at Paignton this year.

09-10-2007

August 1975 a clouded leopard escaped from Howletts. They couldn't find any trace of it so assumed it would have soon died. However it was shot and killed by a farmer on 31 March 1976. It had survived in the wild for almost eight months, feeding on rabbits and lambs.