Five Wildebeests Escape From Ind. Zoo

Link : http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041020/ap_on_fe_st/zoo_escape&e=4

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Zookeepers, police and animal control officers followed five runaway wildebeests through a residential area Tuesday after they escaped from the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.



Animal handlers were herding the zoo's seven wildebeests toward a barn where they are kept during the winter when five of the animals bolted, according to a press release from the zoo. The animals broke through a gate and jumped over a 4-foot-high fence and emerged onto a city street.


Wildebeests, which are native to eastern Africa, weigh between 300 and 400 pounds and can run up to 50 mph.


Zookeepers and officers in vehicles and on bicycles followed the wildebeests down the street, through a trailer park and an apartment complex.


Two of the animals that broke their front legs were euthanized after they were recaptured, zoo veterinarian Joe Smith said. The others were cornered in a back yard near a church.


Officials then shot the animals with tranquilizer darts and returned them to the zoo, according to the news release.


The wildebeests are a featured attraction at the Children's Zoo's African Veldt exhibit.