The Denver Zoo is investigating a “malfunction” that allowed several of its Sumatran orangutans to reach a part of its facility on Wednesday that is only meant for the zoo's animal care specialists.
“Basically, they were able to access the hallway in their behind-the-scenes area, but again, that was still behind a heavy, locked gate, so there was never any scenario where they were able to access any other parts of the building or get outside of their habitat,” said Jake Kubie, spokesperson for the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance.
Zoo employees noticed the orangutans were out of their enclosed area almost immediately, Kubie said. He said the orangutans didn’t appear to be doing anything out-of-the-ordinary aside from exploring an area they shouldn’t be in.
Staff followed protocol by putting out a “code red”, indicating there’s an incident with a “dangerous animal.”
Kubie said because the orangutans are familiar with zoo staff, there wasn’t any danger to humans. Out of caution, he said, staff anesthetized some of the orangutans to bring them back to the enclosure.
Zoo staff blamed the incident on a malfunction that led to a door opening between the orangutans’ sleeping area and the staff hallway. The malfunction is being investigated. Kubie described the incident as rare, but said zoo staff were still prepared to handle it.
As to whether the orangutans used the biological gift they share with us humans — opposable thumbs — to open the door, Kubie says that’s unclear.
“They're very humanlike, so they probably do have the intelligence and dexterity to figure some things out, but I can't say whether or not that was part of this situation,” he said.
The zoo is home to six orangutans, including a two-year old baby.
