During Wednesday, five monkeys escaped. Four of them are now dead and one is seriously injured. How the monkeys got out of their enclosure is unclear, but the park’s CEO calls the incident “a failure.”
According to Michael Jørgensen, international zoo and naturalist consultant at the company Bio/Zoo Information Worldwide, working with chimpanzees is not without risk. Handling requires good security work.
“Chimpanzees are potentially dangerous animals that, regardless of whether they are used to close contact with humans or trained, can be extremely erratic, especially in stressful situations, while aggression likes to spread in the herd in tense situations,” writes Jørgensen in an email to TT .
He emphasizes that the monkeys are curious and like to explore their surroundings.
“Chimpanzees are creative, intelligent animals that test both facilities and keepers, which can lead to destruction, the possibility of escape, and unexpected reactions to keepers,” he writes.
“Some do not take their responsibility”
Michael Jørgensen does not want to comment specifically on what happened at Furuviksparken, but says that most zoos that handle primates can easily meet the appropriate safety standards. If, on the other hand, a zoo is not up-to-date on safety work, they may find it difficult to maintain the standard.
“Today, the zoo must follow various rules and procedures in terms of safety and all procedures must be written down and must be periodically checked by creating scenarios that train the personnel of the zoo in the necessary actions that an accident or accident entails.”
Collaboration is important
According to Jørgensen, a proper investigation of the incident is a good way to improve the safety of the individual park.
It is recommended that zoos cooperate with local authorities both in terms of routines and drills and in terms of access to shooters and emergency services. According to him, this ensures that the park can handle accidents, including incidents where animals escape.
“Security in zoos is generally not bad, but some parks do not take their responsibilities in this regard seriously. All park staff must know procedures for evacuation and how to secure areas, as well as what procedures are in place to calm escaped animals. All zoos should divide the park’s animals into different groups in relation to security level, and have relevant plans in relation to the dangerousness of the situation,” writes Jørgensen.
The incident at Furuviksparken will now be reviewed, both internally and by the Work Environment Agency. According to the park’s CEO Sandra Wilke, the park has worked hard on security.
— We have risk assessments and action plans and we have talked a lot about security and done several exercises. It has been hard to believe that something like this could happen, says Wilke.