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Swedish zoo euthanises chimps after they escape from their enclosure and roam free

Four chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure in a Swedish zoo and roamed freely before being captured on Wednesday, according to Swedish media. Some of the animals had to be euthanised.

Annika Troselius, press spokeswoman for the group that operates the Furuvik zoo, told the Expressen daily that the animals had to be euthanised because there was not enough tranquilizer for all of them.

She said that the chimpanzees are strong and dangerous animals and the zoo’s main focus «is that no human gets hurt.»

Troselius told Swedish radio that a fifth chimpanzee is believed to have left its enclosure, though there were no other immediate details.

It was unclear how the mammals were able to escape from their enclosure.

«We had to euthanise three of our seven chimps today and it is extremely painful for us all,» the zoo said in a post on Instagram. 

«These are individuals we have taken care of, known and protected.» 

Why were the chimpanzees euthanised?

The zoo further addressed criticism over why it had not used sedatives instead of euthanising the animals in its Instagram post. 

«To shoot with sedation darts you need to be very close to the animal,» they said. 

«This combined with the fact that it can take up to 10 minutes before the anaesthesia works, would pose a great danger to human safety.»  

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Furuvik (@furuviksparken)

The Furuvik zoo is located near Gavle, 165 kilometres north of Stockholm, and had seven chimpanzees. It is part of an amusement park. 

According to the park’s web page, it is also the only primate research station in the Nordic countries.

Chimps can plan ahead for the future

It isn’t the first time the zoo has made headlines. In 2009, a chimp named Santino collected rocks to throw at visitors. It shocked guests keepers at Furuvik and fascinated researchers because the animal was so prepared. 

A subsequent study of the 31 year old chimp showed that he had started preparing the morning of the attack. Santino collected rocks and knocked out parts of concrete boulders inside of his enclosure. Interviews with caretakers at the zoo and other observations revealed that he had tapped on these boulders to identify weak points and broken up pieces that were too large to throw. 

The chimp waited until midday when he launched his attack, throwing rocks at visitors. He didn’t attack any of the other animals, just visitors viewing them from across the moat of their island enclosure. 

The study showed that apes can plan ahead just like humans. According to their observations, researcher say that it shows these animals can «consider the future in a very complex way.»

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