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Jailbreak Ape

Escaped "Orangutan" Terrifies Children in Tokyo Zoo Drill

A zoo in western Tokyo has carried out an animal escape drill with an employee wearing an orangutan costume. Small children were terrified by the fearsome renegade ape.

Ah, the orangutan, a noble primate. The remarkably intelligent ape, whose name means "person of the forest" can hardly enjoy captivity. So it was no surprise that one orangutan launched an escape bid in a zoo in western Tokyo Tuesday.

Except the runaway ape was in fact a zoo keeper in an animal costume. The escape bid was actually part of an elaborate drill to train for real animal break outs.

Zoo workers practiced surrounding the escapee with nets before pretending to shoot it with a tranquilizer dart. The renegade primate was then "returned" to its enclosure.

Not everybody was able to tell the simulation from reality, however. Several small children were terrified by the "orangutan" and burst into tears.

dgs/reuters

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