Escaped chimps cause zoo closure

1 August 2013 Last updated at 08:19 ET

Josie, Tojo and Jomar were three of the chimps which got into the secure area of their enclosure

A Leicestershire zoo had to close when eight chimpanzees found their way into service corridors in their enclosure.

At 09:35 BST, the chimps at Twycross Zoo escaped into an area they were not meant to be, leading to safety concerns.

A police spokesperson later said "everything was now in order".

Twycross Zoo, which reopened two hours later, said the animals were encouraged back into their enclosure with ice cream and fizzy drinks.

'Cupboard fun'

A zoo spokeswoman said: "At no time were the public at risk, and no people or chimps were harmed during the incident, however it is part of our safety procedures that we close the zoo whilst such events are resolved.

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Great apes

• Chimpanzees are found in the forests of central Africa
• The primates share 98% of human genes and are our closest living relative
• They demonstrate learned behaviours and use tools

"All of the chimps are fine, if not a little excited about having ice cream for breakfast. They are all on view to the public as normal."

Sharon Redrobe, the zoo's director, told BBC Radio Leicester: "Eight adventurous chimps got into the service corridors, but still within the main building, so it was still reasonably safe.

"They had a fun time running up and down, opening and closing cupboards. It took about an hour to get them into their day place.

"We apologise for closing but it was for a very good reason."

An internal investigation will now take place to discover how the animals escaped.

Leicestershire Police said the problem occurred during the moving of eight chimps and officers were called as a precaution.

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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23533133#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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