Zoo guests managed to capture footage of the troop of lemurs as they evaded the clutches of chasing keepers, with the primates seen dancing and wheeling through the area
Russia: Zoo workers try to catch lemurs that escaped from the enclosure
Lemurs have been caught on film attempting a daring escape from a zoo, with their desperate zookeepers seen on their tails.
The runaway ring-tailed lemurs were caught on video as they tried to escape the clutches of keepers in the Tatarstan Republic, Russia, while they were supposed to be in their enclosed exercise area at the Kazan Zoo and Botanical Garden. While the keepers were seen frantically trying to retrieve the primates, visitors were delighted to watch them scoot by.
The agile Madagascans gave their carers the slip and leapt over low railings to run riot in the zoo grounds on June 2, with guests capturing the event as it unfolded. Video footage shows the crafty animals slipping past their keepers as they twist, turn and leap their way to freedom.
Local media reported that the lemurs popped up all over the zoo until they were eventually rounded up later in the day. In a second video clip, one of the primates can be seen scaling the sheer side of a zoo building. Another is seen perching atop a telephone pole waiting to jump up to join it.
Reports have indicated that zoo officials are yet to comment on the daring escape. In the wild, ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) are natural acrobats that leap through the jungle tree canopy of Madagascar, but they spend much of their time on the ground in family troops. Their conservation status is currently listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss and hunting.
Russia is not the only country that has experienced hilarious animal breakouts, with the UK having seen an escape of its own earlier this year. Honshu, the Japanese macaque, managed to evade his keepers at the Highland Wildlife Park when he scaled the perimeter fence of his enclosure in January, sparking a several-days-long primate hunt.
The macaque was seen eating bird food in Kincraig, a village in Scotland, and was thought to have been seeking respite from the mating season. He was later returned to his enclosure unharmed after zookeepers used a “variety of technique” to try and coax him home.
