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Orangutan climbs out of enclosure while rescuing her baby

Those instincts kicking in.
 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 

We know that orangutans are great climbers -- in fact, it seems like they could just hop out of their enclosure, if they wanted to.

It turns out that Sekara, an orangutan at the Perth Zoo, did just that when her 5-year-old baby Sungai lost grip on some equipment and fell into a garden bed on Sunday, according to WA Today.

Visitors were evacuated from the area for safety, but zoo staff were quick to respond to the incident.

"She seemed really calm, just confused on where to go next. Everyone around was really calm and giving her space as well. The whole incident was probably only 30-40 seconds before staff arrived," Jess McConnell, a witness, told the news outlet.

Perth Zoo spokesperson Danielle Henry told the news outlet that the incident was "over within 15 minutes," and Sekara remained calm and returned to keepers afterward.

"Sekara is an excellent mum and a bit of a helicopter parent, and the only way to get to him was to pop onto the visitor board. She retrieved him and returned to the enclosure on her own," Henry said.

"Keepers were calling to her, and she has a very good relationship with them." The zoo will also conduct a review of the incident.

It's not the first time an orangutan has escaped the zoo's enclosure. A couple of years ago, a 5-year-old orangutan named Teliti somehow got out and had a wander along a boardwalk.

Topics Animals

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Johnny Lieu

Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com

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