Escaped chimpanzees were put back in enclosures in Sweden, some shot dead
A group of chimpanzees escaped a zoo in Sweden. The zoo decided to kill those it could not catch, much to the chagrin of animal rights activists.
A view of the main entrance to Furuvik Zoo, about 10 km east of Gävle, Sweden, on December 15, 2022. (Fredrik Sandberg/TT/AP)
Swedish zoo officials said they were able to recapture three chimpanzees that broke out of their enclosure but had shot four others.
Furuvik Zoo said in a statement on Saturday that the surviving animals are now being cared for and one that is injured is receiving veterinary care.
The monkeys had escaped on Wednesday and some of them got out of the monkey house where they lived. Officials were forced to Shoot them because of the danger to the public. Two were shot in the zoo and one was confirmed dead inside the monkey house.
When rangers were finally able to enter on Saturday, they found the body of a fourth chimpanzee.
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“What has happened is a great tragedy and a great failure on our part,” the zoo said in a statement on Facebook.
“We all feel enormous sadness about what has happened and mourn our beloved chimpanzees Linda, Torsten, Santino and Manda… We are very keen to get to the bottom of how this could have happened and the investigation can show where we have ( failed) or whether we could have acted differently.”
The zoo identified the surviving chimpanzees as Selma, Maria-Magdalena and Tjobbe, and said Selma’s injuries are being treated.
The Jane Goodall Institute has issued a statement on the subject on Saturday, saying “Shooting chimpanzees should only be a very last resort in cases of imminent danger to others. As far as we can tell, it is highly doubtful that was the case.”
The institute also accused the zoo of not having enough tranquilizers to calm the escaped animals until they could be captured rather than killed, noting: “It is never possible to guarantee that chimpanzees, who are highly intelligent, will not be able find a way to escape from their enclosures, be it in a zoo or a sanctuary.
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“Therefore, there should always be a plan, well understood by keepers and caregivers, that allows escaped chimpanzees to be persuaded to return to their enclosures without risk of harm to other animals or people.”
Furuvik Zoo is located near Gävle, 165 kilometers (100 miles) north of Stockholm. It is part of a theme park. According to the park’s website, it is also the only primate research station in the Nordics.
It is not the first time in recent months that animals have escaped from Swedish zoos. In October, a venomous king cobra escaped from its terrarium at a zoo in Sweden but returned on its own after a week.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies