Chimpanzees at the Honolulu Zoo will be kept in a pen near their sleeping quarters until an investigation is done into how one of the primates escaped from the exhibit for a short time Tuesday.
Zoo staff was conducting an audit Wednesday on the exhibit where a 15-year-old chimpanzee, Puiwa, managed to escape.
According to Zoo Director Jeffrey Wilkinson, Puiwa was discovered about 4 p.m. outside the exhibit by a visitor. A perimeter was formed with zoo personnel to keep the male chimpanzee contained, and visitors were escorted to a secure area.
Puiwa was then sedated using a tranquilizer gun and returned to the exhibit shortly before 5 p.m.
"To our knowledge, Puiwa never left the outer edge of the exhibit," Wilkinson said at a news conference Wednesday.
Once calm, Puiwa and the seven other zoo chimpanzees were secured in their sleeping quarters, and the situation was completely resolved by 7:30 p.m., he said.
The exhibit, which is surrounded by a high wall, is closed until the zoo finishes its investigation to determine how the chimpanzee was able to escape. Wilkinson wasn’t able to say when the zoo expects to finish its review.
The incident marks the second Honolulu Zoo chimpanzee slip-away.
In the late 1990s, some of the zoo’s chimpanzees escaped from the same enclosure by way of an overhanging limb. Wilkinson said some of the zoo’s current chimpanzees were involved in that incident.
"After that escape we’ve dramatically trimmed back or removed trees that could possibly allow for an escape," he said, adding that chimpanzees are both incredibly athletic and clever.
"We’re always trying to evolve and create better exhibits that really minimize the risk of escape with very clever animals," he said.
Puiwa appeared to be faring well Wednesday, based on observation, Wilkinson said.
