Monkey escapes his cage at Devon Zoo, leading to a lockdown on visitors as staff track down the rogue primate
- Dozens of visitors to Paignton Zoo were asked to stay indoors during the hunt
- The monkey was eventually isolated in rhino territory during the ‘code red’ incident
Visitors to a zoo were locked up because of an escaped monkey.
Dozens of people were isolated indoors at Paignton Zoo, Devon, after the mammal managed to escape its cage.
Under code red, a big hunt was launched earlier today to find the runaway primate, which eventually became isolated among the rhinoceroses.
Members of the public were subsequently released and allowed to roam freely in other areas as the rhino range was sealed off – and a rescue effort was launched.
The escapee was eventually returned to his enclosure and the zoo was fully reopened.
Visitors to Devon’s Paignton Zoo were trapped after a monkey escaped from its cage in a ‘code red’ incident
People were told to stay indoors while hunting, before the primate was finally isolated in rhino territory
One visitor said: ‘I am currently at Paignton Zoo and they have announced a code red. The staff say a large animal escaped, which they confirmed was an escaped monkey.
“All guests had to be locked in indoor areas. They have isolated it in the rhino territory, so we are now allowed to come out of buildings, but not near the rhino territory.’
Another visit that was part of the escape read: ‘In Paignton Zoo and we all entered the restaurant because an animal has escaped.
“It’s a monkey.”
The zoo is home to about 2000 animals from nearly 300 species
The zoo is home to approximately 2,000 animals representing nearly 300 species, and is known for its effective conservation and breeding programs.
Paignton Zoo said in a statement: ‘Earlier today, Paignton Zoo staff had to deal with an incident involving an escaped monkey.
As a precaution, zoo visitors were evacuated from the area according to our well-rehearsed escape procedure and the animal was recaptured without incident shortly after the alert was issued.
“We are currently investigating how this incident could have happened and would like to thank everyone who was at the zoo this morning for their patience and cooperation.”