15 Animal Escapes from Zoos and Sanctuaries Around the World
We want animals to roam free as much as the next person, but there has to be some limit. You shouldn’t have to share an escalator with a wildebeest or hippo, unless you that's what you want.Here are 15 wild animal escapes we learned about from the safety of our desks.15 The Honey Badger Jailbreak
Source: Wikimedia CommonsThroughout the 2010s, a now-famous honey badger named Stoffel repeatedly escaped South Africa Sanctuary by stacking rocks, dragging logs, opening gates, climbing trees, or even bending wire mesh. The staff joked that they had to “honey-badger-proof the honey badger enclosure.”
14 Ken Allen: Orangutan Houdini
Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe legendary Bornean orangutan escaped the San Diego Zoo three times in the 1980s by studying keepers, unscrewing bolts with his bare hands, and even using tools. Zoo staff secretly monitored him…but Ken would spot the observers and act innocent.
13 The zebra stampede through downtown Brussels
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 2007, two zebras escaped a trailer en route to a safari park and galloped through city streets, nearly causing several traffic accidents until police herded them with patrol cars.
12 A deadly tiger attack
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn December 2007, a Siberian tiger named Tatiana escaped from its enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo, killing a 17-year-old visitor and injuring two others. Police were forced to dispatch the tiger.
11 The Ape Escape Squad
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 2022, at the Furuvik Zoo in Sweden, multiple chimpanzees escaped after an employee left their enclosure door open and roamed freely in the zoo. The incident tragically escalated, when three of the chimps were shot dead by zoo staff. This decision was heavily criticized by the public and animal welfare advocates, who believe the zoo panicked and acted unprofessionally.
10 The German Kangaroo Gang
In 2012, three kangaroos escaped a German petting zoo after a fox dug a hole under their fence. A wild boar then enlarged it, allowing all three to hop to freedom. Two were recaptured but one kangaroo named Skippy remained loose for days.
9 Rusty the Red Panda’s Great Washington Getaway
In 2013, Rusty escaped Smithsonian’s National Zoo overnight and sparked a city-wide social media hunt until someone spotted him in a nearby neighborhood.
8 Inky The Octopus
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 2016, Inky opened his tank lid and escaped from the National Aquarium in Napier, New Zealand. After slithering across the floor, he found a 6-inch drainpipe that led directly to Hawke's Bay and the Pacific Ocean, and made his clean getaway. Aquarium manager Rob Yarrall said that Inky was an unusually intelligent and curious octopus and the story gained worldwide attention.
7 An Elephant Walks Into a Hotel…
In 2019, a young bull elephant named Natta Kota, or "Short Tail" escaped from a Sri Lankan wildlife sanctuary and calmly strolled around the Jetwing Hotel lobby, inspecting the furniture like a tourist. He was so calm that the hotel has let him back in since (but they try to keep him away from the kitchen).
6 A tragic Noah’s Ark-type situation
In 2015, during catastrophic floods in Tbilisi, Georgia, multiple zoo animals escaped, including a massive hippopotamus (who was luckily subdued safely). Not-so lucky were six wolves, several big cats and bears, who had to be dispatched by police over public safety concerns. Tragically, a white tiger attacked and killed a man three days after the flood.
5 The Mystery of the Bronx Zoo Cobra
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 2011, a juvenile Egyptian cobra escaped and vanished for six days. Thinking it could be anywhere, New Yorkers became obsessed with the case. Luckily, she was found curled in a dark corner of the reptile house.
4 A giant tortoise’s slow-motion escape
Source: Wikimedia CommonsIn 2017, a female Aldabra giant tortoise named Abuh escaped from the Shibukawa Animal Park. Zoo staff often allowed her to roam freely within the zoo grounds, but surveillance footage captured her walking right out of the main entrance. After a week, they offered a reward of 500,000 yen (about $4,500 USD) for her safe return. Two weeks later, a local man and his son found her in some shrubbery on a steep slope.
3 Llamas on the run
In 2015, two llamas escaped a Phoenix retirement community’s petting event and led police on a hilarious, viral chase for nearly 30 minutes.
2 An entire wolf pack escaped
ShutterstockIn January 2010, twelve wolves escaped from their enclosure at the Skåne Wildlife Park in southern Sweden. The public was immediately evacuated, and due to safety concerns and the difficulty of safely recapturing a whole pack of wild wolves, the entire pack of twelve animals was tragically dispatched.
1 Big cats were safely returned
ShutterstockTo go out on a happy note, in Lünebach, Germany, a flash flood caused two lions, two tigers, and a jaguar to escape their enclosures in 2018. The big cats were later found within the zoo and safely returned to their cages. Yay!
