400-Pound Escapee Gorilla Bites Zookeeper Before Vet Subdues It
- Posted on March 20, 2012 at 11:44am by
Liz Klimas
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A situation with an escaped 400-pound male gorilla at the zoo in Buffalo, New York, could have been a lot worse, according to zoo officials. The gorilla, Koga, saw his opportunity with an unlocked cage, but while on the loose ended up biting his zookeeper.
Koga escaped Monday, according to a Reuters report, and bit the zookeeper who had cared for him since he came to reside at the zoo in 2007. Buffalo Zoo President Donna Fernandez said Koga was probably surprised to come face-to-face with the zookeeper upon his escape and bit her in the hand and calf. The unnamed zookeeper quickly took refuge in another gorilla cage — one with a non-violent female and baby gorilla.
The zookeeper was treated for the wounds on the scene and eventually taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Watch this local news report:
From there the zoo quickly went into a procedural lockdown while the SWAT team was called in and a veterinarian eventually shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart. Two employees from the local news station just happened to be at the zoo with their families that day and were able to give personal accounts. WIVB reports:
News 4 photographer Josh Roy recalled, “We’re sitting there looking at the ducks and I notice a worker just sprinting.”
Roy and his two kids and his sister, News Four producer Alison Russo, and her baby were actually headed to the gorilla house next.
All of a sudden, Roy said, “The guy behind me started yelling, ‘We need to get out of here! Go to the front or go the to RainForest.’”
[...]
“Oh, I think they did great, they did everything they needed to do. Didn’t scare anyone,” Roy [said referring to how the zoo handled the situation].
It was Russo‘s son’s first trip to the zoo. She joked, “I‘m sure his Dad’s going to exaggerate it and say he fought the gorilla off!”
(Image: Buffalo Zoo)
Watch the report with the News 4 employees’ account:
“In this emergency situation, we experienced the best possible outcome thanks to the training and professionalism of the Buffalo Zoo staff, as well as members of the Buffalo Police Department, especially the SWAT team,” said Fernandes in a release.
Reports state that Koga’s bites were thought to be “playful,” not violent.
Mark Maraschiello of the Buffalo Police told WIVB News 4 in a separate article that the situation was taken seriously, but the visitors of the zoo were not in a truly dangerous situation as the gorilla, even though escaped from his cage, was still contained in a holding area:
“This was inside the holding area, well-contained, behind doors, very easy to contain this to a small area. This is the type of situation we like, if we have to have it.”
Still, Reuters reports Maraschiello, leader of the SWAT team, saying it was the “scariest thing I’ve done in my career.”
Visitors at the zoo were ushered to secure locations for 45 minutes until the ordeal was resolved.
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ThomasUSA
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 4:21pmMost interesting is the conversation the keeper had with the mother gorilla… Mother Gorrilla asks “Didn’t you notice the 400 lb gorilla in the room?”
Report Post »Quasimofo
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 2:12pm….was last seen at a Florida university screaming about evolution…
Report Post »WeekendAtBernankes
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 2:58pmGuy… is… so…. lucky…..
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 11:12amPoor ape, he was just trying to get to the Occupy Buffalo rally…and the 99%ers hit him with a dart.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 11:13amDang it, I meant 1%ers. When you gotta explain it, it’s ruined.
Report Post »spotcoon
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 11:53amHell Man,
Do you mean you didn‘t see that same ape on The Letturdman’s Show the other night?
Report Post »LogicalMetaphysician
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 10:46amHe was heading for the Forbidden Zone!
Report Post »elvisathome
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 4:19pmGeneral Thade, back from Calema!
Report Post »TheKingfish
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 9:52amZoo Keeper was lucky to get away with just a bite, imagine if the gorilla was randy??
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 7:52amAnimals bite – ” it’s a mad house!”
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 7:35amWhat do you feed an escaped 400lb gorilla?
Anything it wants.
Sad, I know, but it’s the only joke I can remember.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 7:32am.
Report Post »Free the Monkey………
SgtB
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 1:42amIs the SWAT team the best way to deal with this? It just seems like they always call out the SWAT team at every possible excuse. I’m not gonna deny that this was a serious situation, but isn’t the swat more prepared and trained for armed combat with violent human offenders? Or are they just the guys you call in when you want something dead? Like Marine Sergeant Jose Guerera for example….
Back to the topic, what do you really expect a male gorilla to do when you cage him up and he is emasculated and never gets to even taste the wild? Surely people don’t expect a gorilla to thank his captors. It just seems so obvious to me that this is what happens when you put a gorilla in a cage. I‘m glad that the zookeeper wasn’t badly injured though, because she could have been easily killed in this situation. Just a few years ago, our local zoo almost lost a female zookeeper to a tapir. Mind you, the tapir is a food animal in the Amazon and isn’t normally aggressive, but it had more than enough power and tenacity to rip one of the woman’s limbs from her and they were unable to reattach that arm. So surviving a Gorilla attack is a miracle in it’s own right.
Report Post »charleyrocks
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 1:31amThey should not be locked up, send these poor animals back to where they belong! They look very unhappy in jail! Stop going with your kids to laugh and throw stuff at them, we are supposed to be civilized!
Report Post »nelbert
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 2:17amThe tragedy is that there are only about 800 or so mountain gorillas left in the world. They’re prime fodder for poachers in the wild, so captivity in a zoo offers some hope of continuation but at the expense of freedom.
Report Post »It’s sad.
chips1
Posted on March 20, 2012 at 11:26pmEven polling places are dangerous!
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on March 20, 2012 at 11:05pmI think we found Joe Bidens replacement
Report Post »conserve48
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 3:33amNo – too much hair and way too smart.
Report Post »Onowicit
Posted on March 20, 2012 at 9:27pmI am forming a militia and we are going to seek justice.
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on March 20, 2012 at 11:06pmCall Al.
Report Post »Onowicit
Posted on March 20, 2012 at 9:22pmShe will not comply. You know who‘s side I’m on. The uprising is coming.
Report Post »