Four chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure at a Swedish zoo and roamed freely before being captured and euthanized on Wednesday, Swedish media reported.
Annika Troselius, a spokeswoman for the group that runs Furuvik Zoo, told Expressen newspaper that the animals had to be euthanized because there was not enough tranquilizer for all of them.
He said chimpanzees are strong and dangerous animals and the zoo’s main goal “is for no human being to get hurt.”
ALABAMA FAMILY SENTENCED BY FEDERS FOR OPERATING ‘ONE OF THE LARGEST GHI-FIGHTING ENTERPRISES’ IN THE UNITED STATES
Staff at Furuvik Zoo in Sweden had to euthanize four chimpanzees after they escaped their enclosure on December 14. Pictured: A sign above the main entrance to Furuvik Zoo.
(FREDRIK SANDBERG/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Troselius told Swedish Radio that a fifth chimpanzee is believed to have left its enclosure, though there were no other immediate details.
It was unclear how the mammals managed to escape their enclosure.
Furuvik Zoo is located near Gavle, 165 kilometers north of Stockholm, and used to house seven chimpanzees. It is part of an amusement park. According to the park’s webpage, it is also the only primate research station in the Nordic countries.
