A daring orangutan cartwheeled, tight-rope-walked and trapezed its way out of an enclosure at the Toronto Zoo this week, officials said.
Fortunately, several attentive guests caught the great escape on video, revealing Kembali’s swift and athletic maneuvers. A four-second clip shows the orangutan swinging from O-line ropes to an elevated platform, from which he shimmied his way down. The fuzzy animal executed a nearly perfect “cartwheel-like motion” to avoid a hot wire barrier near the top of the tower made to prevent escapes like Kembali’s, the zoo said in a statement Saturday.
“From there he was able to climb down the tower,” the Toronto Zoo said.
The freedom was short-lived, as the escape artist was quickly recaptured and brought back to his enclosure without incident. According to the zoo’s previous social media posts, Kembali had only tested the new O-line equipment for the first time last month.
To no surprise, he was also the first of the zoo’s seven Sumatran orangutans to play on the ropes. The ropes are set up so that the orangutans can tread across them and explore pavilions throughout the outdoor exhibits, offering zoo visitors a chance to watch the animals from below.
The outdoor exhibit has since been shuttered out of precaution and the zoo is re-evaluating what modifications are required to prevent another escape. “While we continue to investigate this incident, the outdoor orangutan habitat will be closed to guests and media until further notice,” the zoo said.
The Toronto Zoo says it has figured out how one of its orangutans managed to escape its outdoor habitat earlier this week. On Friday the zoo said Kembali managed to access an area just outside of its habitat Thursday evening. Staff were able to clear guests from the area quickly and police were on standby in the parking lot before the male primate was returned to the habitat without incident.
After reviewing video footage and photographs zoo officials say Kembali managed to use a cartwheel-like motion to swing from a rope that was on one of the towers at the south end of the outdoor habitat, bypassing a secondary barrier near the top of the tower before grabbing a steel bracket under the platform and climbing down the tower.
“We want to thank the many guests and Zoo members who sent us video and photographs from the orangutan habitat as they have been instrumental in helping us better understand how Kembali, the male orangutan was able to climb down the tower and access the area just outside the habitat,” the zoo said in a statement on Saturday.
While the zoo staff was able to swiftly return the orangutan to its enclosure, it is unclear how Kembali, a male orangutan, managed to escape. The zoo’s director of wildlife care, Grant Furniss, said on Friday morning that they are looking to “put the puzzle together” and figure out how Kembali was able to climb down the tower and escape to the area outside of the exhibit. “We are grateful to our Zoo team for their quick actions.”
The zoo said it will be reviewing footage from the orangutan habitat and photos from visitors on August 29 to try to understand how the escape happened. To help with the investigation, the Toronto Zoo is asking anyone who might have captured video footage or photos of Kembali’s escape to contact the zoo.
The new $11 million orangutan habitat, which was opened last summer and has an area of 13,000 square feet, will remain closed to guests and media until the investigation is complete and the zoo has a better understanding of what changes need to be made to ensure such an incident doesn’t happen again. Zoo officials say that they will keep the public updated on the findings of the investigation.
The zoo also shared that the orangutans will still be viewable from their indoor enclosure while the investigation is ongoing.
The Toronto Zoo describes Kembali as “a free spirit who finds joy and adventure in every moment. A bundle of energy, he loves swinging high and fast through the exhibit, or hanging upside down and dropping dramatically to the ground.”
The incident has also led the zoo to share that it conducts regular drills to prepare for situations like the escape, which helps to explain why staff were able to safely return Kembali to its enclosure.
While the zoo continues to investigate, there is much to be learned about how Kembali managed to escape, and the zoo’s decision to temporarily close the habitat is a necessary step in ensuring both the safety of the orangutans and the public.
Orangutans are known for their intelligence and agility, and Kembali’s escape highlights the importance of continuing to learn from incidents like these to improve animal care and ensure that enclosures are safe and secure for both the animals and the public.
The incident is a reminder that animals, even in carefully controlled environments, can surprise us with their ingenuity and resourcefulness.
The Toronto Zoo has a responsibility to its animals and the public to ensure that its enclosures are safe, and the investigation will be crucial in determining what changes need to be made to prevent a similar incident from happening again.
In the meantime, the zoo is continuing its efforts to provide a safe and enriching environment for its orangutans, and visitors are reminded that they can still see the animals from their indoor enclosure while the investigation takes place.
The zoo’s commitment to animal welfare and public safety is paramount, and it is important to trust in their process as they work to understand how this incident occurred and to prevent it from happening again.
