What did you do the last time you skived off work?
Slink off to the pub? Have a few drinks? Return home early to nap the whole thing off and then pretend it never happened when your boss asks?
Well it looks like the gorilla that escaped from London Zoo last week had similar plans.
Kumbuka, the 17 year old Westland lowland silverback gorilla (yes, that is the same species as Harambe), burst out of his enclosure on Thursday last week, causing the the Zoo to go into lockdown.
Many wondered if the gorilla would suffer a similar fate as to Harambe, but thankfully, zoo officials managed to successfully tranquilise Kumbuka before any harm was done.
Now, a week on, and it seems that Kumbuka had no interest in causing a ruckus… he just wanted a quick after work pint.
Or nine.
Kumbuka, wondering at what time he can clock off his shift. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
London Zoo have recently revealed that Kumbuka made an “opportunistic” exit through two unlocked doors into a corridor where a keeper was working.
He literally slipped out when no one was looking.
Professor David Field, the ZSL’s zoological director said the whole affair was “less dramatic than some would have you believe”.
He added: “I can certainly tell you that there were no broken locks, Kumbuka did not smash any windows, he was never ‘on the loose’, and his normal gorilla posturing reported by visitors earlier in the day was unrelated to the incident.”
So how did they eventually calm down and sedate Kumbuka?
By getting him on the bevvies.
Kumbuka managed to sink FIVE LITRES of undiluted blackcurrant squash before he was tranquilised.
As Professor Field explained, Kumbuka was kept calm by the member of staff, with whom he had a “close bond” as he downed his drinks, and then he was taken back to his enclosure.
Professor Field wrote: “Thanks to the incredibly close bond and relationship shared by the zookeeper and Kumbuka, the zookeeper was able to continually reassure Kumbuka, talking to him calmly and in the same light-hearted tone he would always use, as he removed himself from the area.”
You know how sometimes you get really aggy and think about quitting your job, and then your best work mate buys you a few pints and you decide to stick it out for a bit longer?
London Zoo did that to a 184kg (29st) silverback gorilla.
Heroes. One and all.
