Orangutan Escapes Enclosure At Busch Gardens

At Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, an orangutan escaped its enclosure and was roaming about the grounds of the theme park. The incident caused a mild panic as theme park goers watched and filmed the animal swinging from the tree above.

The 18-year-old female orangutan named Luna wanted a taste of freedom and the brief moment was captured by the park’s guests and posted on social media. Luna climbed a tree, fell from the tree, and then lumbered around before being captured. The area was evacuated by park workers as Luna was hit with a tranquilizer dart and subsequently returned to her enclosure.

The park released a statement saying: “This afternoon, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay moved guests safely out of the Stanleyville area of the park when a female orangutan was outside of her habitat. The animal care team responded immediately and the animal is back safely and secured in its habitat without incident.”

Luckily there was reportedly no harm done to either the park’s guests or the orangutan. The park mentioned, “The safety of our guests, employees and animals is our No. 1 priority.”

No reports have surfaced regarding how long Luna was outside of her enclosure, but Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Gary Morse mentioned that the animal was returned to her habitat by 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening.

Luna is the second orangutan to escape in the Busch Gardens of Tampa Bay this year. On June 16, another male orangutan escaped in the Jungala area of the park before being lured back to its enclosure by park workers without incident, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

This was Luna’s second successful escape in her stay at Busch Gardens. She previously escaped back in 2008 after scaling the 12-foot tall walls of her enclosure.

What do you think Busch Gardens should do to avoid having this kind of incident happen again?