Visitors to Paris Zoological Park evacuated as workers try to lure animals back to enclosures

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Paris Zoological Park has been evacuated and closed after dozens of baboons escaped their enclosure.

As zookeepers raced to round up the animals, armed police surrounded the popular attraction and sealed off nearby roads.

About 50 baboons were reported to have got out and congregated around the Grand Rocher, the fake rock centrepiece of the zoo, on Friday morning. Most had been rounded up and sent back to their shelters a few hours later, but four remained on the loose.

Officials at the zoo said the animals had not come in contact with the public as they had remained in areas inaccessible to visitors.

Members of the public had been evacuated as a precaution because baboons could be unpredictable “especially when stressed”. “They’re stronger than us,” they added.



The emergency services were called, and keepers, vets and a team carrying tranquilliser darts were on the scene in minutes and surrounded the animals.

The zoo said it was confident the remaining animals would be persuaded to return to their enclosure. “The dominant males have already gone back,” an official said.

The park in Vincennes covers a 14.5-hectare area on the eastern edge of the French capital. It reopened in April 2014 after a €133m (£116m) facelift. Clever landscaping, including fake rocks and boulders, acts as a trompe-l’œil to disguise that the site’s 1,000 animals and 180 species are in captivity.

The Grand Rocher, which was built to conceal two water reservoirs and resembles the backdrop to a King Kong movie, dominates the skyline and is the symbol of the zoo. </s> Park will remain open except for affected enclosure while cause of blaze is investigated

Thirteen monkeys have died in a fire at Woburn safari park in Bedfordshire, believed to have been sparked by a faulty generator.

The blaze started in the patas monkey house within the drive-through enclosure of the park in the early hours of Tuesday. It was spotted by security guards on a routine patrol and three appliances from the Bedfordshire fire brigade attended.

A spokesman for the safari park said: “Devastatingly for everyone at the park, none of the 13 animals could be saved. All other animals within the jungle drive-through enclosure are being monitored, but early signs suggest that they have not been affected.”

The park will remain open but the jungle enclosure will be closed.

The fire comes 10 days after a blaze at London zoo killed an aardvark and four meerkats.

A safari park spokesman, Drew Mullin, told Sky News an initial investigation by the fire service suggested a generator fault was to blame.

“We must now clear up and look after the staff,” he said. “They are devastated. They build up a bond with the animals. We will keep the jungle closed for today, tomorrow and the next few days and then we will make a decision about reopening.”

Bedfordshire fire and rescue service said: “We have concluded that it is likely that the fire started accidentally in a generator.”

A spokesman said its firefighters had gone to the safari park at 2.37am and found the patas monkey house ablaze with its roof fallen in. They spent more than two hours at the scene before the incident was declared closed at 4.46am. The building was 90% damaged by the fire.

Patas monkeys, also known as hussar monkeys, are found in the open grasslands of central Africa. They have long limbs and their back legs are so powerful that they can reach speeds of up to 35mph (56km/h), making them the fastest primates in the world.

According to the safari park’s website, the monkeys had 6.5 hectares (16 acres) in which to roam but were confined to their house at night-time during the winter.

The Captive Animals’ Protection Society said the fire showed the dangers animals were exposed to in zoos.

Nicola O’Brien, a campaign manager for the charity, said: “It’s just one of the risks of having animals trapped in cages. It must have been an absolutely horrific death for them. Obviously accidents do happen, but we do think it calls into question the whole point of why we place animals in captivity in the first place.

“You’re taking animals and putting them in an unnatural environment which risks their welfare. When a fire happens [in captivity] there’s nothing they can do. Patas monkeys are a species that in the wild could react very fast.”

London zoo’s annual stock take was due to take place on Tuesday, but it said it had been postponed as a result of last month’s blaze. The annual count will now take place next month, as will that at Whipsnade zoo which, like London zoo, is owned by ZSL (Zoological Society of London).

The fire at London zoo broke out at about 6am on 23 December in the animal adventure section, destroying a cafe, shop and about half of the adjacent petting zoo. It reopened to visitors the next day. </s> Image caption The zoo includes enclosures for Malaysian tigers and Bengal tigers

A zookeeper has died in a "freak accident" after a tiger entered an enclosure at a wildlife park.

The death happened at Hamerton Zoo Park, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, at about 11:15 BST.

Cambridgeshire Police said: "A tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper. Sadly the female zoo keeper died at the scene."

Visitors were led away from the zoo. At no time did the animal escape from the enclosure, said police.

Officers investigating the death said it "is not believed to be suspicious".

Image copyright Heidi Maury Image caption An air ambulance landed at the wildlife park but there were no other injuries

Hamerton Zoo Park said in a statement: "This appears to have been a freak accident.

"At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures and at no point was public safety affected in any way.

"All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time.

"The park will be closed from tomorrow 30th May, and we will give more information as soon as we can."

An investigation is under way, the zoo said.

Image caption A new tiger enclosure opened at the zoo last summer

A visitor to the zoo, who does not wish to be named, told the BBC: "We got to the zoo at opening time, around 11:45.

"We were close to the tiger enclosure when a member of staff shouted for everyone to leave the park quickly and immediately."

Hamerton Zoo Park

The wildlife park opened in June 1990 and covers some 25 acres.

It includes enclosures for Malayan tigers, Bengal tigers, cheetahs, wolves, corsac foxes, kangaroos as well as a variety of birds, reptiles and domestic animals.

The zoo opened a new enclosure for its Malayan tigers in July last year.

In October 2008 a cheetah which escaped from the park was found by a nine-year-old boy in the back garden of his family home.

Another visitor said: "I was taking pictures of the leopards. The parrots were flying and squeaking and going berserk.

"Then staff were running towards the tigers and lions area. We were all told to leave the park. But after 20 minutes everyone was allowed back in.

"Staff asked us to leave again. They're not saying what happened. However, they were great. They were calm, just doing their job."

Visitor Jeff Knott, 32, from Cambridgeshire, said staff had been "a real credit" to the zoo during the evacuation.

"Staff were very calm and professional," he said.

"All visitors around us were leaving in a very calm manner - no running, shouting or anything similar." </s> The tragic zookeeper mauled to death by a tiger today at a Cambridgeshire zoo has been named.

Rosa King, 33, was killed when one of the centre's four tiger got into an enclosure where she was working at Hamerton Zoo Park, near Huntingdon.

Desperate colleagues tried hurling meat towards the tiger in a bid to distract it but Rosa could not be saved and was declared dead at the zoo.

“She would walk in the cheetah cage and play football with them. She was at home with them.”

Her screams for help were heard by Pete Davies, 55, who was there with his partner and son.

“We were at the tiger enclosure and there was a guy who was ahead of us with a camera taking photos of animals," he said.

“He was in the next closure, he came running past us really quickly. Then he came back with a few zoo keepers to the viewing area of where the tiger was, and then we heard a girl screaming and another one said run to us so we found a small room and stayed there until it was safe to leave.

“The zoo keepers had their heads in their hands, and didn’t know what to do, throwing meat over the enclosure to entice the tiger away. They shouted stuff.

“It went on for too long. Then we were ushered out and left."

Police and the ambulance service were called to the zoo at 11.15am this morning.

A statement from Hamerton Park Zoo read: “This appears to have been a freak accident.

“A full investigation is under way and we hope that more details can be announced as soon as we are able.

“At no point during the incident did any animals escape their enclosures, and at no point was public safety affected in any way.

“All our thoughts and sympathies are with our colleagues, friends and families at this dreadful time."

The zoo is a 25-acre wildlife park that has about 500 animals including monkeys, cheetahs, raccoons, sloth and a collection of Malaysian tigers and white tigers.

Hamerton will be closed for tomorrow (May 29) at least while investigations continue. </s> Police evacuated the historic fortified island of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy on Sunday after a man threatened he would kill police at the popular tourist destination.

According to the Ouest-France newspaper, the individual escaped before authorities arrived.

"An individual has entered Mont Saint-Michel. He made fairly specific threats against the police in front of a coffee shop," the gendarmerie told broadcaster France Info.

A local journalist posted unconfirmed images on Twitter of tourists being evacuated and armed police at the abbey.

Police searched houses on the island in the northern region of Normandy, but were unable to find the inidividual, who was heard uttering threats. Local officials said the site was "free of risk" and due to reopen.

"All houses have been checked, all public and private venues were inspected by the police," police district prefect Jean-Marc Sabathe told the BFM news channel. "I'm almost certain that he's gone."

Surrounded by water at high tide, Mont Saint-Michel attracts more than a million visitors a year to its abbey and

 other sites, making it the biggest tourist attraction in France outside Paris.

Read more: France marks three years since Charlie Hebdo attack </s> A zoo has been evacuated due to what police have called a "serious incident".

Visitors were led away from Hamerton Zoo Park, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, at about 11:15 BST.

A spokeswoman for the attraction denied claims on social media that a tiger had escaped from its enclosure.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesman said: "We can confirm that no animals have escaped and members of the public are safe."

She continued: "Officers were called at around 11.15am to reports of a serious incident at Hamerton Zoo Park, Steeple Gidding.

"Officers attended the scene along with ambulance crews and Magpas (Mid Anglia General Practitioner Accident Service - air ambulance).

"We are unable to provide further information at this time."

A Magpas spokesman said: "At 11:34am today, the air ambulance landed in a public place near Sawtry in Cambridgeshire, after the Magpas enhanced medical team were called to a very serious incident.

"An East of England Ambulance Service paramedic crew and two rapid response vehicles were also in attendance, alongside the police."

The zoo said it will remained closed for the day and a full statement will be issued later.

Hamerton Zoo Park opened in June 1990 and covers some 25 acres.

It includes enclosures for Malaysian tigers, Bengal tigers, cheetahs, wolves, corsac foxes, kangaroos as well as a variety of birds, reptiles and domestic animals.

The zoo opened a new enclosure for its Malaysian tigers in July last year.

In October 2008 a cheetah which escaped from the park was found by a nine-year-old boy. in the back garden of his family home.

It was thought to have got out through a faulty electric fence.

Were you at the zoo when the incident happened? You can share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
• Text an SMS or MMS to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (international) </s> Thirteen monkeys have been killed after a fire broke out at Woburn Safari Park in the early hours of this morning (2 January).

The animals, all of which were Patas monkeys, were being kept indoors for the winter months in an enclosure in the park’s 18-acre African jungle section.

Although firefighters from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service fought to save them, the roof of the enclosure had already collapsed in on the monkeys by the time crews arrived at the scene shortly after 2.30am.

In a statement, the safari park described how staff had been left “devastated” by the monkeys' deaths.

The deadly blaze comes just over a week after a fire broke out at London Zoo, killing an aardvark and four meerkats.

In a statement, a spokesman for Woburn Safari Park said: "Staff and fire crews attended the scene, however devastatingly for everyone at the park, none of the 13 animals could be saved.

"All other animals within the jungle drive-through enclosure are being monitored, but early signs suggest that they have not been affected.

"An investigation is now underway into the cause of the fire and the jungle enclosure will remain closed for investigation.

"The rest of the park will remain open."

Describing the Patas monkeys, a page on the park's website reads: "Our troop of Patas monkeys can be seen on the road safari in the African Jungle.

"Here they roam in their 16 acre exhibit with our troop of Barbary macaques and herd of Eastern Mountain Bongo.

"They are housed at night time in the winter but in the warm summer months they have 24/7 access to their large exhibit."

A spokesman from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue said: "Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire at a monkey enclosure at Woburn Safari Park at 2.37am this morning.

"When firefighters from Woburn and Dunstable Community Fire Stations arrived along with the water carrier from Toddington they found the outbuilding housing Patas monkeys was well alight and its roof had fallen in.

"They fought the fire using fire hoses while wearing breathing apparatus to protect themselves from the smoke and fumes.

"The building was 90 per cent damaged by the fire."

Patas monkeys originate from Africa, where they live in open grassland, wooded savannahs and dry woodland.

They grow up to 85cm in length and their tails grow to 75cm.

Males can weigh up to 12 kg and females 6.5 kg and they have a lifespan of up to 20 years.

In Africa, Patas monkeys are hunted for meat and are persecuted as a crop pest. </s> Visitors at Hamerton Zoo were evacuated after emergency services were called to a 'serious incident' which is thought to have involved a tiger.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed they were called to the zoo near Huntingdon at 11.15am today.

Speculation that a tiger had escaped its enclosure has been dismissed by Cambridgeshire Police and Hamerton Zoo, but the incident is still being described as "very serious".

It is believed someone was attacked by a tiger within an enclosure, but they have not yet been identified.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokeswoman said: “Officers were called at around 11.15am to reports of a serious incident at Hamerton Zoo Park, Steeple Gidding.

Live: Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire evacuated after reports of 'tiger attack', no children hurt

“Officers attended the scene along with ambulance crews and MAGPAS.

“We are unable further information available at this time, however, we can confirm that no animals have escaped and members of the public are safe.

“We will provide a further update when we are able to.”

A MAGPAS air ambulance also landed at the 20-acre facility, which is home to a number of big cats, primates, marsupials, other mammals and birds.

A Magpas Air Ambulance spokeswoman said its "enhanced medical team were called to a very serious incident" at 11.34am today.

She said: "An EEAST Ambulance Service paramedic crew and two rapid response vehicles were also in attendance, alongside the Police.

“Visitors were safely evacuated from the zoo and no one was running. We can also confirm that no animals escaped the enclosure and no children were injured.”

An eyewitness to the scene Charlie Hawthorn, 18, from Northampton, described chaotic scenes.

He said: "When we were going into the zoo there were zookeepers came rushing over telling us there'd been a serious incident and everyone needed to get out.

"Then they actually let us back in for around 15 or 20 minutes before the zookeepers started running around in a bit more of a panic and saying everyone had to get out.

"There was one woman saying a teenage boy was missing and it was just absolute chaos. There were three ambulances, an air ambulance helicopter, police, it looked like a big incident."

Pete Davies, 55, who was there with his partner and son, said: “We were at the tiger enclosure and there was a guy who was ahead of us with a camera taking photos of animals. 

“He was in the next closure, he came running past us really quickly. Then he came back with a few zoo keepers to the viewing area of where the tiger was, and then we heard a girl screaming and another one said run to us so we found a small room and stayed there until it was safe to leave. 

“There was no tiger on the loose because they said we can we can into the next part.

“The zoo keepers had their heads in their hands, and didn’t know what to do, throwing meat over the enclosure to entice the tiger away. They shouted stuff. “It went on for too long. Then we were ushered out and left. 

“We didn’t see anything because it happened behind a mound of grass. It seems like a tiger has turned on a zoo keeper.”

Another eyewitness Jeff Knott, from Cambridgeshire, said staff had been “a real credit” to the zoo during the evacuation.

The 32-year-old told the Press Association: “We had been in the zoo since about 10.30am and heard/seen nothing until asked to leave about 11.45am.

“Staff were very calm and professional. All visitors around us were leaving in a very calm manner - no running, shouting or anything similar.”

The park was closed for the rest of the day and the public are not believed to be at risk.

The zoo is a 25-acre wildlife park that has about 500 animals including monkeys, cheetahs, raccoons, sloth and a collection of Malaysian tigers and white tigers.

In October 2008, a cheetah escaped from the zoo, described as “the most environmentally-friendly zoo in Europe" and reemerged in a nearby back garden.

Eight-year-old Toby Taylor found the cheetah in the back garden of his family home. It was thought to have got out through a faulty electric fence. </s> Thirteen monkeys have died in a fire at a safari park.

The blaze broke out in the Jungle Enclosure at Woburn Safari Park, Beds., in the early hours of this morning (tue), causing the roof to collapse.

Staff and fire crews battled to save the Patas monkeys, but none of the thirteen animals could be saved.

They were being kept inside for the winter months, but normally live outside in the park’s 18-acre African Jungle enclosure.

In a statement, a spokesman for Woburn Safari Park said: “All other animals within the jungle drive-through enclosure are being monitored, but early signs suggest that they have not been affected.

“An investigation is now under way into the cause of the fire and the jungle enclosure will remain closed for investigation.

“The rest of the park will remain open.”

Describing the Patas monkeys, a page on the park’s website reads: “Our troop of Patas monkeys can be seen on the road safari in the African Jungle.

“Here they roam in their 16 acre exhibit with our troop of Barbary macaques and herd of Eastern Mountain Bongo.

“They are housed at night time in the winter but in the warm summer months they have 24/7 access to their large exhibit.”

Fire crews were called to the site at around 2.37am this morning but described the building as being 90 per cent damaged by fire.

A spokesman from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue said: “Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire at a monkey enclosure at Woburn Safari Park at 2.37am this morning.

“When firefighters from Woburn and Dunstable Community Fire Stations arrived along with the water carrier from Toddington they found the outbuilding housing Patas monkeys was well alight and its roof had fallen in.

“They fought the fire using fire hoses while wearing breathing apparatus to protect themselves from the smoke and fumes.

“The building was 90 per cent damaged by the fire.”

Patas monkeys originate from Africa, where they live in open grassland, wooded savannahs and dry woodland.

They grow up to 85cm in length and their tails grow to 75cm.

Males can weigh up to 12 kg and females 6.5 kg and they have a lifespan of up to 20 years.

In Africa, Patas monkeys are hunted for meat and are persecuted as a crop pest.
Paris Zoological Park, France, is evacuated and closed after dozens of baboons escape their enclosure.