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Orangutan escapes her enclosure at Perth Zoo

Visitors were forced to evacuate
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Visitors were forced to evacuate Perth Zoo yesterday after an orangutan managed to escape her enclosure.

Guests watched on in awe as the adventurous ape made her way onto the boardwalk to retrieve her son who had reportedly fallen from a nearby tree just metres from visitors.

Witness, Jess McConnell, said of the incident ‘she seemed really calm, just confused on where to go next. Everyone around was really calm and giving her space as well.’

The Zoo’s Media and Communications Manager, Danielle Henry, later said ‘the younger orangutan was playing around on some equipment. He lost his grip and fell into a garden bed.’

‘Sekara is an excellent mum and a bit of a helicopter parent and the only way to get him was to pop onto the visitor board. She retrieved him and returned to her enclosure on her own.’

After evacuating everyone to a safe space, visitors were able to return to exploring the zoo within 15 minutes.

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