Four chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure at a Swedish zoo and roamed freely before being captured and euthanized on Wednesday, according to Swedish media.
Annika Troselius, a press spokeswoman for the group that runs the Furuvik Zoo, told the Expressen newspaper that the animals had to be euthanized because there was not enough tranquilizer to go around.
She said chimpanzees are strong and dangerous animals and the zoo’s main focus “is that no human being gets hurt.”
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Staff at the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden had to euthanize four chimpanzees after they escaped from their enclosure on December 14. Pictured: A sign is seen above the main entrance to Furuvik Zoo.
(FREDRIK SANDBERG/TT/AFP News Agency via Getty Images)
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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 were able to escape their enclosure.
Furuvik Zoo is located near Gavle, 165 kilometers north of Stockholm, and had seven chimpanzees. It is part of an amusement park. According to the park’s website, it is also the only primate research station in the Nordic countries.
