(Image: China Daily Information Corp – CDIC /Reuters)
It’s a zookeeper’s nightmare: a bear is on the loose, and it must be corralled and tranquilised to stop it running amok through the city. But in this case, the bear sports pink striped horns and suspiciously hand-shaped paws.
Happily, it’s just a drill. The staff at a zoo in Taiyuan in the Shanxi province of China, along with a colleague in a bear suit, were taking part in training exercises yesterday intended to foil animal great escapes.
Advertisement
Earlier this year, , south-west China, when a cleaner left a cage door ajar, causing a lockdown and lion-hunt lasting several hours. A similar fumble with a lock , Jiangsu province.
Evidence shows that some animals can plan for the future, so it’s also essential for zookeepers to be prepared to deal with plotting captives. In 2008, a chimp in a Swedish zoo was found to be hoarding blocks of concrete overnight, ready to hurl at visitors the next day.
To see previous Pictures of the Day, visit our Short Sharp Science blog archive.
