Mystery surrounds orangutan’s zoo escape

An orangutan briefly escaped its enclosure at the Toronto Zoo on Thursday evening, and the zoo is now asking anyone who might have video of the caper to come forward.

The zoo said a volunteer alerted Health and Safety staff that Kembali, a male orangutan, had gotten out of his new outdoor habitat.

Toronto Police Services were called to the scene as a precaution but stayed in the parking lot and didn’t get involved.

“As an AZA-accredited zoo, we’re ready for situations like this with regular drills,” the zoo said in a statement. “Our team quickly cleared the area and got Kembali back to his habitat without any issues.”

The zoo is checking its own surveillance footage to determine how Kembali managed to escape. It’s also asking visitors who were at the orangutan habitat and might have recorded video to contact its supervisor of Health & Safety Services at gbirtles@torontozoo.ca .

“We’re grateful for the quick response from our team,” the zoo said. “The outdoor orangutan habitat will stay closed to guests and media while we investigate. Thanks for your patience.”

TMX contributed to this report.

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