52-Year-Old Elephant Is Safely Returned After Miraculously Escaping Her Enclosure

A 52-year-old elephant was recently safely returned to her enclosure after giving her zookeepers quite the scare. This gentle giant miraculously managed to escape her enclosure at the zoo, alarming everyone who noticed her disappearance. Luckily, she was quickly returned, no worse for wear.

Elephant Is Safely Returned To Her Enclosure After Escaping

Perhaps she just wanted to take in some new sights? ABC News shared some of the details regarding the incident. Alice the elephant is 52 years old and calls the New Mexico zoo her home. Apparently, she decided she wanted to take in some new sights this past Sunday because she successfully escaped her enclosure.

Fortunately, security at the zoo quickly learned of the Asian elephant’s whereabouts. ABC News shared that Alice “was discovered outside of the elephant habitat at Albuquerque’s ABQ BioPark by security staff on March 29.” A news release issued by the BioPark further elaborated on the elephant’s safe return.

Once security spotted the Asian elephant, they alerted animal care staff. Just 10 minutes later, they “initiated an emergency response protocol.” Afterward, the elephant was safely returned to her enclosure. No other elephants had escaped, no staff were harmed during the rescue, and Alice did not sustain any injuries during her venture out.

The Zoo Handled The Situation Well

The news release also highlighted how well the BioPark handled the situation at hand. Fortunately, the zoo was closed at the time of the escape, so there were no guests present. Additionally, the staff had built such a trusting relationship with Alice that “she walked safely and calmly back to her habitat when called.”

The release shared that the zoo practices routine run drills in the event that something like this ever happened, and it appears those drills paid off. The only sign of any disturbance was that the zoo was delayed opening for 30 minutes, “while paths were cleared of debris from where Alice ate plants and trees in the vicinity of her habitat.”

With all things considered, the staff handled this extremely well, and the elephant was safely returned to her enclosure.

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