Chimp escapes up electricity pole, then falls...
A chimpanzee that escaped from a zoo in north-eastern Japan was caught in a nearby residential area after being hit with a tranquilizer gun and plunging from power lines, local media reported Friday.
The male chimpanzee, named Chacha, was uninjured, Kazuhiro Endo, an official at the Yagiyama Zoological Park in Sendai city, told dpa Friday.
Two staff members at the zoo sustained minor injuries while trying to catch the animal Thursday, Kyodo News agency reported.
The 55-kilogram chimpanzee was on the loose for two hours Thursday afternoon, climbing a utility pole and moving along power lines, the report said.
As the chimpanzee touched the wires, about 1,800 nearby households temporarily lost electricity, Tohoku Electric Power said.
A nearby elementary school with some 400 children ordered the pupils not to leave the school for home until the animal was caught.
“When I saw it on television, it was quite big, so we thought it was dangerous to let the children out,” Takashi Yamaguchi, school vice principal, was quoted by Kyodo as saying. - dpa