An orangutan escaped its enclosure at Melbourne zoo on Monday afternoon, sending the zoo briefly into lockdown.
The 11-year-old male ape, named Malu (also known as Menyaru), made it into a zoo’s public area before being cornered by zookeepers.
All visitors at the zoo were evacuated to safe areas.
Malu was surrounded by vets and zoo staff and then tranquilised.
“At no time were visitors or staff in danger,” a Melbourne zoo spokesperson said. “Melbourne zoo staff acted quickly to lock down the zoo and all visitors have been safely ushered into secure areas.”
After the ordeal was over, Melbourne zoo tweeted: “Malu the #orangutan has returned to his night quarters after a brief stroll through the public area.”
Malu the #orangutan has returned to his night quarters after a brief stroll through the public area #melbournezoo pic.twitter.com/5X1JV1ap34
— Zoos Victoria (@ZoosVictoria) July 13, 2015
