L.A. ape reprises escapes


By Ryan Oliver
Staff Writer


A 17-year-old chimpanzee named Gracie escaped from her enclosure Monday at the Los Angeles Zoo for the fourth time in recent years and roamed free for 45 minutes, forcing the evacuation of 9,000 visitors.

With television helicopters hovering overhead, zookeepers finally cornered Gracie and fired a tranquilizer dart gun, but it only grazed her. Still, a short time later, she returned to the exhibit on her own.

"We have one individual animal here who happens to be an escape artist," said zoo director John Lewis. "She managed to bounce from one wall to another, and she got a handhold over one of the walls."

Security staff quickly separated visitors from the chimp and led them to the front of the zoo before deciding to shut down it down completely.

Gracie never strayed far from the chimpanzee enclosure after her escape around 3:30 p.m.

Irene Lopez of Norwalk was standing near the enclosure when she saw one particularly active chimpanzee leap out of her view.

"It kept trying to jump on top of some rocks," Lopez said. "It finally went over and out of view. It suddenly disappeared. We didn't know it had escaped at first, but when we saw everybody being evacuated, we got nervous."

One of the visitors who saw the escape said the other chimps "went crazy." Visitors said they thought the chimps might be cheering for Gracie.

But Lewis said the other animals were just excited.

"It was the excitement of something being different. They know that is not an area where they go," Lewis said.

The zoo was more crowded than usual on a Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Many visitors were unaware of just what had happened while they were ushered to the front of the park and news helicopters swarmed overhead.

"We thought maybe they were looking for somebody, or a mountain lion escaped," said 37-year-old Sandra Worsfold of Covina. "We had to ask somebody what happened."

Worsfold, who went to the zoo with her sister-in-law and six children, said she was not afraid to return to the zoo despite the chimp escape.

"I'm an animal lover," she said. "They're probably more scared of us than we are of them. It's just a little chimp."

Lewis said he did not know if Gracie would pose a threat to visitors, but he noted that chimpanzees are very strong for their size.

The escape was Gracie's fourth from the chimpanzee habitat since it was opened 1998.

In the past, the Los Angeles Zoo has come under criticism after animal escapes, including the brief escape of a 270-pound gorilla in October 2000.

Lewis said the chimpanzee exhibit had been modified repeatedly because of Gracie's earlier escapes.

"Each time, we've made corrections based on her abilities, and she's found another way," Lewis said. "We've got 14 other animals (in the habitat) -- none of which have been able to get out of this exhibit.

"What we normally do is look at the average ability of the animals ... being housed, and obviously Gracie is above-average."

Lewis said Gracie appeared to be in good condition. After her return, she was placed in a special enclosure Monday to prevent another escape.

"Gracie's fine," Lewis said.

Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, who represents the Griffith Park area where the zoo is located, arrived shortly after Gracie's escape.

"The zoo director and his staff are going to investigate to make sure this doesn't repeat itself," LaBonge said. "But Gracie does like to climb."

Lora LaMarca, director of marketing and public relations, said other animals were frightened by the media helicopters, but Gracie appeared to be having a good time when she got out, visiting the penthouse area in the exhibit where other chimpanzees are kept.

"You've got to love her," LaMarca said.

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