Photo: Frederic Legrand - COMEO (Shutterstock)
Part of the cost of doing business as a zoo is that occasionally, the animals are going to try and make a run for it. An orangutan named Ken repeatedly escaped from his enclosure at the San Diego Zoo. A gorilla named Evelyn temporarily escaped from her home at the Los Angeles Zoo. Even a hippopotamus managed to take a stroll down a nearby road after getting loose at the Fleishhacker Zoo (now called the San Francisco Zoo). The point is, even though zoo escapes are incredibly rare, they do happen. That means it’s possible you could be out for a walk one day, minding your own business, and come face-to-face with an exotic animal the likes of which you’ve never seen this close up.
What are you supposed to do in that scenario, besides call 911? Here is a thorough guide for exactly what you should do if you come eye-to-eye with an escaped zoo animal—depending on which animal it happens to be.
