Flash Post 128!

“Did you see this fascinating bit of information in the TOI a couple of days back?”

“No, Button. Tell me. What is it about?”

“About the 5 great zoo escapes.”

“Zoo escapes! Like animals escaping from their captivity? How wonderful. After all, they are there for committing no crime when they are meant to roam freely. The wanderlust must have caught up with them! By the way, there are some great prison break films like Papillion, Escape From Alcatraz, Shashank Redemption you must watch.”

“But listen to these:

In the year 1935, in New York City, a group of 172 monkeys led by their leader, a simian aptly called Capone, revolted and escaped after a worker accidentally left a plank across a moat. 50 from amongst them stopped a train while 30 returned to the zoo on their own.”

“Wow! And the next?”

“In the year 1979 in Los Angeles, a wolf called Virginia escaped multiple times by climbing trees, fences and walking along branches to freedom. Unlike monkeys, wolves were never meant to climb but this particular wolf chose to ignore nature’s diktat!”

“How wonderful.”

“Goldie, the golden eagle, escaped when his cage was being cleaned evading captivity for 12 days. He drew crowds and caused traffic jams till he was recaptured enticed by a dead rabbit. He escaped 10 months later but only for 4 days. This took place in London in 1965.”

“Next?”

“Evelyn, the gorilla, escaped her enclosure 4-5 times. She even jumped onto another gorilla’s back to climb over a wall and also made use of some vines to swing over to the other side. As TV copters flew overhead, she had a full run of the zoo for a full hour.”

“You must give me these interesting bits of news whenever you find any. I do it all the time with you.”

“In 2013, in Tokyo’s Sea Life Park, Humboldt the one year old penguin, scaled a rock twice its height and charted a course around Tokyo Bay. The zoo received a photo by email showing Humboldt swimming in a nearby river.”

“Fantastic!”