An orangutan broke out of her enclosure at an Australian zoo to mingle with visitors, with her astonishing exploits captured on camera.
The video footage shows Teliti, a five-year-old orangutan, putting the 'ape' into 'Great Escape' by vaulting the outer wall of the enclosure at Perth Zoo and clambering down to the ground.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Like many prison escapees before her, however, Teliti found it impossible to keep a low profile on the outside for long. Zookeepers were quickly able to lure her into a secured area, before returning her to her family in the enclosure.
The extraordinary footage was captured by enterprising 12-year-old Reilly Lovegrove, who was visiting the zoo with his sister.
"Considering how strong they are and how they could actually pull someone's arm off, we were pretty scared," he told the West Australian. However, if Reilly appears perfectly calm in the clip, it could be attributed to the fact that this isn't his first rodeo. Strangely, he had already witnessed an orangutan jailbreak during a previous visit to Perth Zoo. "This is the second time I have seen an orangutan escape. The last time was in 2009," he said.
Perth Zoo officials confirmed that Teliti had briefly left her enclosure but stressed that no one had been hurt during her impromptu visit to the outside world. The zoo's official Twitter account joked that, like other errant five-year-olds, Teliti would now be sent to the "naughty corner".
-
The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
-
Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
-
‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
