I always had this fear of fleeing from an escaped Gorilla at the Zoo.

[Catherine Vincent]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/05/18/rotterdam.gorilla.ap/index.html
Gorilla wreaks havoc in zoo escape
POSTED: 12:44 p.m. EDT, May 18, 2007


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- A 400-pound gorilla escaped from his enclosure and ran amok in a Rotterdam zoo Friday, biting one woman, dragging her around, and causing panic among dozens of visitors before he was finally subdued, officials and a witness said.

The Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo was evacuated and the 11-year-old gorilla, named Bokito, was eventually contained in a restaurant within the park, police spokeswoman Yvette de Rave said. Four people were injured, including the woman who was bitten, zoo director Ton Dorrestijn said. Bokito was shot with a sedative dart and recaptured, said zoo spokeswoman Lilian Jonkers, but she couldn't say what his condition was. It was not immediately clear how he managed to climb the high stone walls surrounding his enclosure.

"He got over the moat, which in itself is remarkable, because gorillas can't swim," Dorrestijn said. "He got onto a path for visitors and started running and went at full speed through tables and diners at the Oranje restaurant."

A witness, Robert de Jonge, told NOS radio that he didn't see the gorilla escape but began following it and tried to help after he saw people running and screaming that the animal had grabbed a woman.
"I saw the beast running through the park with a woman behind him, him grabbing her forearm," De Jonge said. At a distance of around 30 yards, he saw the gorilla lie down near the woman and then heard her scream. "He bit her, or I think he bit her, because when he stood up his mouth was covered in blood," De Jonge said. He said he then stopped to tell arriving police what had happened and ran with them as they traced the gorilla to a nearby restaurant terrace.

The zoo was packed with visitors as many Dutch took advantage of a national holiday Thursday to make a long weekend.

[Bucky]

1. You know, if Charlton Heston were there with a gun, this tragedy would have ended sooner

Dutch liberals creating their own little simien hell because they refuse to allow their citizens the right to carry guns in public. Yet if Holland were a well armed society, this tragedy could have been prevented.

[Swamp Rat]

3. LOL!

:rofl:

[MissB]

7. .

:spray:

[depakid]

2. Image here

Non-CNN link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-05-18-escaped-gorilla_N.htm

[Cleita]

4. The same thing happened at the LA City Zoo some decades

back except it was an escaped Chimpanzee with different results. The chimp strolled alongside the visitors looking at the exhibits. Since some of the animals are allowed to mingle with the visitors at the zoo, like peacocks, no one thought anything of it until one of the zookeepers saw the chimp and took action. Not only that, the same chimp kept getting out of the enclosure and they didn't know how, so they put up a surveillance camera to watch him. It turns out the other chimps were giving him a boost over the wall.

[Catherine Vincent]

6. LOL! Funny story.

Set them free!

[PA Democrat]

5. We had an escaped gorilla a few years ago at the Pittsburgh Zoo

Gorilla Escapes, Devours Junk Food


PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Zookeepers in Pittsburgh are
trying to figure out how a gorilla got loose and
managed to make a pig of herself by wolfing down
muffins, cherry pastries and soda pop at a concession
area normally reserved for humans.

About 250 people cowered inside nearby buildings at
the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium for 45 minutes, after
the 150-pound (68 kg) female gorilla escaped from an
outdoor exhibit by crossing a wide moat and scaling a
14-foot (4.2-meter) wall to freedom.

The animal, which is only 3-1/2 feet (one-meter)
tall and is not considered a public danger, quickly
found her way to the zoo's outdoor concession area on
Sunday afternoon and began digging through overflowing
trash cans.

``She seemed to especially like the Orange Slice''
soda pop, Barbara Baker, the zoo president and chief
executive, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/monkeywire/2001-February/000047.html

[blogslut]

8. sigh

Zoos make me sad. I know they serve a great purpose but they still make me sad.

[Catherine Vincent]

10. Same here.

Captivity.

[rasputin1952]

9. Incredible....

"It was not immediately clear how he managed to climb the high stone walls surrounding his enclosure."

He's an ape, they climb, they ford rivers, they swing from things....:dunce:

Besides, I thought stuff like this only happened in NYC...Great Apes grabbing women and running around climbing buildings...now they go to a Bistro????..:P

[IntravenousDemilo]

11. This reminds me of one of my favourite songs...

BROTHER GORILLA by Jack Thackray

Through the bars of a large enclosure
The village ladies intently stared,
Where a gorilla with massive composure
Was impassively combing his hair.
They were shamelessly interested,
Eyeing devoutly a certain spot,
But my mother's especially requested
I refrain from telling you what.
Brother Gorilla!

The door of the circus lock-up,
Where the noble brute had been put,
By an administrational cock-up
Was unwisely left unshut
"I'm going to lose it at last," he cried,
Swinging lissomely out of his cage,
Referring, of course, to his chastity:
He was just at the difficult age
Brother Gorilla!

Those self-same ladies who previously
Had been licking their lips from afar
Did a bunk, which shows how devious
And whimsical women are.
In the path of the lovesick monkey
There were two who wouldn't budge:
A little old lady, all shrunken,
And a petty sessions judge.
Brother Gorilla!

The old girl said "It would be surprising
And unlikely in the extreme
If anyone found me appetising,
And beyond my wildest dreams!"
The judge intoned with tranquillity:
"To take me for a female ape
Would be the height of improbability".
Even judges make mistakes.
Brother Gorilla!

It would be curious and uncanny,
Say, if the choice were up to you
To ravish a judge or a granny
And you didn't know which to do.
If I were in such a position
And the choice had got to be mine,
I'd beg the old lady's permission
But go for grandma every time.
Brother Gorilla!

Though the gorilla is very proficient
In the role of a paramour
His mental equipment's deficient
And his eyesight's awfully poor.
With a Palaeolithic leer
He gave the old lady the miss
And, grabbing the judge by the ear,
Gave him an introductory kiss.
Brother Gorilla!

In time the gorilla's desires
Were more or less gratified.
The judge, being rather biased,
Couldn't see the funny side.
He was kicking and screaming and wailing
When his moment of truth had come,
Like those wretches he orders daily
To be taken away and hung.
Brother Gorilla!

[Gabi Hayes]

12. what about that dangerous, rabid critter on the loose in DC?