May 17, 2008 11:01 pm US/Pacific
Orangutan Makes Brief Escape At L.A. Zoo
LOS ANGELES
An orangutan named Bruno escaped Saturday from his enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo and went on a 25-minute jaunt but never ventured into public areas.
Bruno's escape prompted an evacuation, but no one was injured and he was captured not long after getting free.
Bruno, a 29-year-old, 300-pound male orangutan, got out through a hole in his wire mesh enclosure at about 3:50 p.m., Promotions Coordinator Gina Dart said. Instead of wandering into the public areas, he headed for a holding area behind the cage where a handler saw him.
Dart said Bruno was never aggressive and let a handler inject him with a sedative. He was secured by 4:30 p.m.
The only visitors in the area of the Red Ape Rainforest Habitat were told to head for the entrance of the zoo. The zoo closed as usual at 5 p.m. and will be open Sunday, Dart said.
Zoo officials were not sure whether Bruno made the hole in his wire mesh enclosure or if the wire broke some other way.
Orangutans are very bright, crafty and have the ability to use tools, zoo officials said.
"He was just in a place where he shouldn't have been," Dart said.
Bruno was awake, in good condition and back in his holding area, she said.
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