Me, a great escape artist?

[Guest guest]

The New Paper

 

8 April 2004

 

 

 

by The Jen Lee

 

 

 

Me, a great escape artist?

 

 

 

Naturally curious: Celebrity Orang Utan Ah Meng and Chomel at the Singapore Zoo.

These primates are like humans, they don't like to be cooped up.

 

 

 

Last month, a 154kg gorilla in Dallas Zoo escaped after scaling a 5m-tall

concave wall with an electrical wire on top.

 

 

 

The 13-year-old gorilla, Jabari, was shot dead by police 40 minutes later, but

not before it bit a 3-year-old boy's head and punctured his lung.

 

 

 

It also hurt two others, including the boy's mother.

 

 

 

Some teenagers had reportedly been teasing it before the incident.

 

 

 

At least six other great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans) have

escaped in US zoos since last year, sad a website affiliated with animal welfare

group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

 

 

 

So what makes primates want to escape?

 

 

 

Dr Shirley MrGreal, who founded the International Primate Protection League

while studying primates in Thailand, said: " Often it is the result of pressure

from within their own group but some animals just want to explore.

 

 

 

" Orang Utans are especially good escape artists. "

 

 

 

Since it's quite normal for animals to get chased within enclosures, it is often

good to have several places where they can retreat, she said.

 

 

 

However, vet Jean-Paul Ly, director of the Animal Recovery Centre here, said:

" Primates are highly intelligent. Like humans, they don't like to be cooped up,

so they will learn to find escape routes, no matter how well-designed the

enclosure is. "

 

 

 

Occasionally they will try it, especially if they get bored and don't have

anything to do, said Dr Ly, who was a senior lecturer on zookeeping in Sydney

for seven years.

 

 

 

He thinks animal welfare organizations may not be helping by fighting the use of

animals for entertainment.

 

 

 

He said: " It's a delicate balancing act. Photo-taking and performing could well

be the activities that break the zoo animals' boredom and give them the mental

release they need. "

 

 

 

It's not just primates that try to escape. In 1996, a 14-month-old Malayan tiger

called Giggo escaped when his keeper at the Night Safari left a door unlocked.

 

 

 

When the tiger got near the zoo's boundary, it had to be shot dead. No

tranquilliser could have acted fast enough to stop it from getting out.

 

 

 

Mr Chris Shepherd, a conservationist based in Kuala Lumpur, said that even if

they are given adequate space, some animals may be curious or may go out looking

for mates.

 

 

 

He Said: " Animals have the natural urge to check out what's outside their

enclosure. They are wild animals and have wild instincts. "