Three chimpanzees were shot dead and one was injured after they escaped their enclosure at a zoo in Sweden, which has drawn criticism for the incident.
According to the zoo in Furuvik, trying to tranquilize the animals instead of shooting them would have put people’s lives in danger.
Three other chimpanzees still aren’t contained in their enclosure.
In Sweden, the creatures were well-known, and their deaths have angered people.
According to researcher Mathias Osvath, who has known them for several years, they posed no serious threat. “My heart would have raced if I had run across them in the park, but I wouldn’t have been in mortal danger. It’s tragic. “He spoke to the BBC.
The event started on Wednesday at noon (11:00 GMT) when the chimpanzees broke out of their enclosure and started to walk freely across the zoo.
It is not known how they escaped.
Public visitors weren’t there because the zoo was closed for the year, but zoo officials said the escaped animals still posed a threat, and staff workers were evacuated or told to stay indoors.
Chimpanzees are thought to be quiet, although they may be highly dangerous. They are bold, swift, and extremely powerful,” a company statement posted on Facebook.
The zoo claimed that, as a result, it was compelled to use firearms to kill the animals rather than tranquilize them with close-range tranquilizer darts.
It, together with the fact that it can take up to 10 minutes before the anesthesia manifests, the statement claimed, “would pose a severe hazard to human safety.”
However, shooting the animals has drawn heavy criticism. An ex-caretaker who spent 30 years caring for the animals has accused the zoo of acting improperly.
I believe they panicked, Ing-Marie Persson told public broadcaster SVT.
On Friday, two deceased chimps, Linda and Torsten, had their identities officially confirmed by the zoo. Santino and Manda were the names of the second and third people who were both confirmed dead.
Cognitive zoologists from the University of Lund have stopped working with the zoo after years of studying chimps.
“I would say that I personally knew them. I’ve embraced Manda, kissed Linda, and wrestled with Santino “Mathias Osvath observed that the chimpanzees had escaped from their enclosure in the past when there were tourists present at the zoo.
Santino was renowned for his creative abilities outside of Sweden and was reportedly a favorite of Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria.
