London Zoo put in lockdown after gorilla escapes from enclosure
A seven-foot tall, 184kg gorilla has escaped from his enclosure at a zoo in London, causing staff and visitors to be rushed to safety during the 90-minute ordeal.
The silverback gorilla, named Kumbuka, escaped from his enclosure at London Zoo on Thursday evening local time and made his way into a secure keepers’ area.
Visitors of the zoo said the animal looked agitated and distressed in the lead up to his escape.
“He looked very intimidating,” Oliver Barker told the Daily Mail. “The zookeeper came over and said, ‘don’t aggravate him by staring at him’.
“She could tell he was very agitated, and lo and behold, soon after we were told he had escaped.”
A video taken by another guest showed Kumbuka moving through his enclosure before suddenly swinging on his rope and smacking his arm against the glass.
Police arrived at the zoo at 5:20pm and confirmed that the gorilla had safely been recaptured by 7pm.
Zookeepers shot Kumbuka with a tranquiliser dart were able to transport him back to his enclosure, London Zoo mammal curator Malcolm Fitzpatrick told BBC.
"We're happy to report that he's up and grumbling, and interacting with the rest of his family in his gorilla kingdom,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.
“At no time were any of our visitors in danger, the gorilla did not get out of his safe space. There were only about 100 visitors in the zoo.”
Nobody was injured in the incident.
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