52 Paris zoo baboons escape at Vincennes: How did an enclave of 52 baboons manage to escape as officials seek to round up the remaining four.
The biggest zoo in Paris went on lockdown mode after 52 ‘large and potentially aggressive’ baboons escaped their enclosure.
France’s Le Parisien reported the animals seen running amok at Paris’s Zoological Park, in the Vincennes woods, just after Friday midday, with zoo officials saying just four remained on the loose after 48 of them were recaptured.
Told zoo spokesperson, Jerome Munier, ‘It’s not known how they got out, but everything is being done to try and get them under control,’
‘The whole area has been shut down, with only trained professionals involved in the security operation.
‘They include three operatives with rifles who will be able to stun the animals if necessary. Many police and vets are also in attendance. Baboons are large and potentially very aggressive.’
Baboons are not naturally a danger, but can attack humans and cause serious injuries if they feel they are being threatened.
The public had been warned the evacuation was necessary because the animals can be unpredictable when stressed.
‘They are stronger than us,’ officials warned.
An official at the zoo said the remaining four will soon return since the dominant males have already come back.
Some may have escaped into nearby play areas and other recreational facilities, but it is unlikely they have got out of the zoological park itself, which covers 36 acres.
‘They are almost certainly all in the park woods, but anybody in the area needs to keep a look out,’ the spokesman added.
Nearby roads have been closed down, with checkpoints being set up using police patrol cars.
Suite à une échappée de #babouins dans le Grand rocher, la situation a été mise sous contrôle : l’ensemble du groupe a regagné son enclos, exceptés 4, qui sont en vue. Nous vous tenons informés de la situation.
— Zoo de Paris (@zoodeparis) January 26, 2018
Paris zoo baboons escape alarm raised:
The alarm was raised late this morning when a vet noticed a baboon in a service corridor reported the dailymail.
An emergency plan was triggered ensuring the monkeys did not come into direct contact with visitors, who included many young children.
By early Friday evening, Zoo spokesman Jerome Munier said all four baboons had been located in a closed area, inaccessible to the public Zoo employees planned to use sedative arrows to capture them and put them back with the rest of the group.
About 40 police officers and specialized firefighters remained mobilized, including three fencers with hypodermic rifles. In total, about sixty firefighters, and twenty policemen and 100% of the staff, about sixty people, had been mobilized upon being alerted of the Paris baboon zoo escape.
To date, no explanations had been offered as to how the primates managed to escape their enclosure, and what may have initially set off the ‘exodus’.
Guinea baboons, originated from West Africa, are classified as a ‘near threatened’ species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Visitors can usually admire them around the zoo’s ‘Big Rock’ that towers over the Bois de Vincennes park, in eastern Paris.
Paris last experienced an animal-on-the-loose alert when a tiger briefly roamed the city after escaping from a circus cage last November. The beast was shot dead.
La surface du Grand rocher est très vaste. L’attente peut être longue jusqu’au retour des animaux vers le reste de leur groupe. Le personnel animalier se relaiera par binôme tout au long de la nuit. Bon courage à nos collègues du #ZoodeParis pic.twitter.com/AbscEyBmuU
— Zoo de Paris (@zoodeparis) January 26, 2018
