Going Ape?! Monkeying Around?! Orangutan Escapes Enclosure At LA Zoo

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Zoo says a juvenile female orangutan briefly escaped through the mesh that surrounds her habitat, but never left the exhibit area and did not pose a danger to the public.

Volunteers saw 6-year-old Berani climb through a cantaloupe-sized hole in the mesh canopy to the public side around noon Friday. After rounding up the other orangutans, zookeepers sedated Berani.

Zoo spokesman Jason Jacobs says Berani is not an aggressive animal. She stayed close to her habitat and did not wander around.

Visitors were cleared from the orangutan exhibit, but the zoo remained open.

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