March 01 2007
Don’t Cry, It Was Only A Drill
posted by Ana Samways at 7:36 amA safety drill at a Tokyo’s Tama Zoo left dozens of children in tears after an employee dressed as a runaway ape was shot with a tranquilliser gun.
The well-intentioned drill was based on the scenario that a strong wind could blow a tree over in the orang-utan enclosure providing one of the occupants with a ramp to escape over the fence.
The obviously fancy-dressed ape jumped out and frightened a school party, then raced around the zoo pursued by staff and scattering the crowds. He then seized a member of staff before a keeper armed with a tranquilliser gun came out and shot him.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
“This final act, however, was greeted by hysteria among the young crowd who, as they watched the drama unfold, were completely taken in by the animal’s ‘demise’,” reports The Daily Mail.
Check out the photos as events unfolded. Hilarious.