CALGARY- More details are emerging about how a group of gorillas managed to escape their enclosure, for the second time this year.
Officials from the Calgary Zoo say that two workers left a door open between the enclosure and a kitchen area on Sunday afternoon. That allowed the animals to get inside and wander around for about half an hour, before staffers realized what happened.
They moved to a secure area and notified security over the facility’s radio system, before the kitchen cleared and the door could be closed. Fortunately, no people or animals were injured.
It’s still not clear how many of the gorillas made it out.
The zoo plans to review its safety policies and procedures.
“Our protocols are among the best in the world, but we’re asking ourselves if they need to be higher,” explains Lindsay Galloway from the Calgary Zoo. “I think, given the circumstances, yeah. The answer is looking at ways we can improve the safety protocols.”
The incident comes on the heels of a similar one in March, after a zookeeper was injured by a gorilla that made its way into the kitchen area after the door was improperly locked.
The workers involved in Sunday’s incident have been disciplined, but will not be fired.
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