Eight animal escapes from Fota since 2015

STAFF at Fota Wildlife Park have dealt with eight animal escapes since 2015, including two penguins and a serial macaque monkey escapee named Stevie Wonder who came ‘very close’ to visitors, according to an incident report.

In August of this year, a colobus monkey named Cheeky Chops spent a night in a public toilet after escaping from the park and was spotted by drivers on the Fota Road.

The animal returned to its enclosure after being caught by rangers in a tree in the visitor car park and was unharmed.

The incident is the only one reported in 2017 but records released to the Evening Echo under the Freedom of Information Act show seven animal escapes during 2015 and 2016.

Stevie Wonder – a macaque monkey – is reported to have escaped on numerous occasions on one day during January 11, 2015.

The incident reports said Stevie had left his island several times during that day and knocked over rubbish bins. “[A] crowd of visitors were watching. He’s getting very bold and obviously not frightened of people and is getting very close to them,” the report said.

Also in the incident report, the animal is reported to have run over to a buggy but was chased away by an unidentified individual.

Just a day later again, Stevie broke through electric wire to raid a bin with another monkey.

On January 18, the macaque again absconded with an accomplice when they negotiated the fence around their island to rummage through bins.

In March of the same year, a penguin escaped its enclosure and spent all day in the park’s lake. The incident report said the animal was believed to have returned to its enclosure but the staff member who wrote the incident report said they couldn’t be sure and they were ‘unable to get a full count.’

Another penguin fled their enclosure in February 2016 and was later returned, but staff were unsure as to how the bird escaped.

The incident was ‘very quickly dealt with’, according to the report.

A female gibbon was discovered by a member of the public on a rock in November 2015 and got an electric shock, prompting her to jump onto a bridge.

According to an incident report dated November 10, staff met at the gibbon enclosure with nets and kept the ape surrounded. She was ‘successfully netted’ but the animal escaped a second time, again to rocks near the enclosure.

A staff member ‘took a shovel’ and walked towards her. The report adds that she jumped back onto the island and the fence was later tested, while the animal was ‘locked in overnight.’

In May 2016, another macaque left their enclosure for a total of three days. The monkey was seen in the staff car park two days after escaping on May 7. He was then spotted the following day chasing birds on the beach opposite the old macaque houses and then went into a wooded area.

His house was left open overnight with food to coax him back and was caught in a trap cage before being released back into the macaque house by rangers.

A spokesperson for Fota Wildlife Park said all relevant procedures were followed by Fota staff in each of the incidents and no animal or member of the public was in danger at any time.

“We are constantly reviewing our animal welfare policies here at Fota Wildlife Park so that we can continue to improve our animals and visitors’ experiences and ensure that the animals who live here can continue to thrive,” they said.

“All the animals are checked between two to three times a day, depending on the species, and a full inventory is taken each time.

“The main group of Lion-tailed Macaques now live in a new habitat in the Asian Sanctuary,” they added.