Topline
An Andean bear escaped its enclosure at the St. Louis Zoo on Thursday, prompting a lockdown at the zoo for the second time this month, following a string of escapes around the country, including an owl that got loose in New York City and two monkeys that were stolen from the Dallas Zoo.
An Andean bear escaped its enclosure at the St. Louis Zoo on Thursday.
Key Facts
The zoo was temporarily closed on Thursday while officials searched for the bear before zoo employees hit the bear with a tranquilizer dart and returned it to its indoor enclosure, multiple local outlets reported.
It was the second time the same bear had gotten loose, after it cut open a steel mesh section of its walled enclosure on February 7, escaping for nearly two hours and prompting zoo officials to inspect and re-secure its habitat.
The zoo has since reopened to the public after staff gave an “all clear” update, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Tangent
The escape of Ben, the Andean bear, from its enclosure marks the latest animal to get out of its habitat at a zoo this year. It does not appear that the bear’s enclosure was tampered with, however, which was the case when a Eurasian eagle owl escaped from its exhibit at the Central Park Zoo earlier this month, and when two tamarin monkeys were stolen from the Dallas Zoo. Dallas Police later arrested a 24-year-old in connection with the theft after he was spotted near an animal exhibit at an aquarium.
Big Number
300. That’s how many pounds the four-year-old bear weighs. After it escaped earlier this month, zoo staff told the Post Dispatch they had installed stainless steel safety attachments with 450-pounds of strength along the perimeter of the enclosure, though those clips—which are used to tie cargo on ships—were clearly not strong enough, zoo director Michael Macek admitted on Thursday. The zoo is looking to find other ways to secure the steel mesh frame of the enclosure, he said.
Further Reading
Lockdown lifted after Andean bear that escaped enclosure at Saint Louis Zoo is darted (KMOV)
Andean bear at the St. Louis Zoo escapes enclosure again (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
Bear briefly escapes enclosure at Saint Louis Zoo (Fox2)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/02/23/bear-escapes-enclosure-at-st-louis-zoo-for-2nd-time-this-month/