The offer of a raincoat tempted the chimpanzee back
Footage has been shared online of the moment a chimpanzee who escaped from a zoo returned to an employee’s arms in exchange for a raincoat.
Journalist Hanna Liubakova shared the clip on Twitter which shows the chimp, named Chichi, wandering around the streets of Kharkiv, Ukraine.
She had escaped from a local zoo, with zoo employees unable to tempt her back to them. But when it started to rain, they had a plan.
Liubakova said: “In Kharkiv, a chimpanzee escaped from a zoo. It was walking around the city while zoo employees tried to convince it to return.
“Suddenly it started to rain, and the ape ran to a zoo employee for a jacket and then agreed to return to the zoo.”
The video has since been viewed more than 4.6 million times and racked up almost 140,000 likes.
In the video, Chichi is seen running into a park after a zoo employee in a yellow raincoat sits with her in an attempt to convince the animal to return to the zoo.
The clip then cuts to Chichi running towards the employee as she offers the chimp her jacket.
Chichi then quickly puts the jacket on before hitching a ride back to the zoo on a bicycle.
#Ukraine In Kharkiv, a chimpanzee escaped from a zoo. It was walking around the city while zoo employees tried to convince it to return. Suddenly it started to rain, and the ape ran to a zoo employee for a jacket and then agreed to return to the zoo. pic.twitter.com/4AGiAHw1wf
— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) September 6, 2022
The director of the zoo confirmed to local media that the chimp was safely back in her enclosure.
It was a rare moment of warmth and joy for Kharkiv, which has been under heavy bombardment from Russian forces for almost the entirety of the war in Ukraine.
Chichi was moved from her original home at Feldman Ecopark, which is directly on the frontlines in the outskirts of Kharkiv.
According to reports, six volunteers and more than 100 animals were killed by shelling during the attempt to evacuate the zoo.
There is less shelling in the city centre, but this does not mean the danger has gone away. Just last week, four people were killed by a rocket which landed in the city.
On Facebook, the zoo gave an update about the situation there.
It said: “The zoo is closed to visitors, but the care of the animals does not stop.
“The war is causing terrible stress for the animals, so some of them have been moved to indoor enclosures and underground galleries. Veterinarians monitor their emotional state and, if necessary, provide a sedative.”
Related links:
- Intruder who broke into monkey enclosure in Tasmania at risk of ‘potentially fatal’ herpes
- Man mauled to death by a lion after jumping zoo fence to try and ‘steal a cub’
- Woman who says she’s ‘having affair’ with chimp is banned from visiting him by zoo
