INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Zoo is back open after a female chimpanzee was sedated and returned to her exhibit Friday morning following a brief escape.
According to zoo officials, the female chimpanzee was spotted outside her exhibit at around 10 a.m. Following emergency protocol, the zoo was immediately locked down, and all guests were escorted to secure locations. The chimpanzee was sedated and returned to her exhibit.
The Indianapolis Fire Department was also called to the zoo after receiving reports of the loose animal at 10:10 a.m. A firefighter team was placed on standby during the incident.
WRTV spoke to a Wayne Township spokesperson who said the district had two field trips scheduled to visit the zoo on Friday: second-grade and seventh, eighth-grade students. The spokesperson said the students never made it off the buses because they were told about the loose chimp
There were no injuries reported to guests, zoo staff or the animal.
"The Zoo’s security, animal care and veterinary teams train for these scenarios and responded in a textbook and professional manner," zoo officials said.
The zoo has reopened as normal.
