Orangutan tries to flee L.A. Zoo

Bruno, a 29-year-old orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo, tried to escape from his enclosure Saturday but was stopped in his tracks -- after about 3,000 visitors were herded toward the exit.

Times staff writer Jean-Paul Renaud reports:

After punching a hole through the mesh that surrounds his habitat, Bruno made his move at about 3:50 p.m. But instead of heading for freedom, he ended up in a holding area behind the cage, where a handler soon noticed him.

Bruno never made it into the zoo's public area, but his attempt prompted officials to ask the park's visitors to head toward the front of the zoo. Keepers quickly approached Bruno, one of the zoo's six orangutans, and sedated him.

"He was calm and responded well to the staff," said Gina Dart, promotions coordinator for the zoo. "He was never aggressive."

Bruno's taste of freedom lasted 20 minutes. None of the zoo's other orangutans has ever tried anything similar, said director John R. Lewis.

"He's a trendsetter," Lewis said.

A much more serious incident at the San Francisco Zoo in December left one teenager dead and two more injured when a tiger escaped from its enclosure. Tatiana, a Siberian tiger, was shot and killed as she roamed the park.

Comments

[Wil Fernandez]

My friends were there...scary stuff!

[Michelle]

Bruno did not try to "flee" or "escape." As you concede, he did not actually leave his enclosure, he went over to where his keepers are. Around 4PM every day you can observe many of the animals at the zoo waiting by the door of their nighttime sleeping quarters. He was probably just anxious to get inside. I understand that your headline is written to attract attention, but it's misleading and gives the wrong impression of what really took place.

[Wiley E. Coyote]

Two orangutans try to escape on the same day from different zoos? Coincidence? I think not! It was obviously a carefully orchestrated attempt to test the enclosures in the zoos around the country. You watch! Before we know it thousands of animals will be escaping their enclosures to cause havoc around the country. They must be stopped!

[Steven Keenan]

Are you stupid, Michelle? They were "anxious" to go inside. How can an animal that is naturally raised in the wild and taken away from there home and put in an enclosure, want to be even more enclosed by going inside? Doesn't anyone see that holding animals in captivity is just plain wrong. Open your eyes and stop supporting these prisons. When are we going to learn? Hopefully it won't take another tiger attack or more deaths for us to come to terms with how wrong zoos are.

[Antonio]

If this is not enough evidence that zoos are animal prisons, I don't know what else needs to happen. Zoos must be shut down, they are ugly, despondent places.

[Liese]

zoo's are prisons for animals... they do not behave in zoo's the way they would in the wild so there is no educational or scientific purpose for them. people, keep on wakin up! lets bring this consciousness with us to the next life if we need to... They were here first!!!