Employees at the Japanese zoo conducted a mock escape zebra drill on Tuesday where they used large white nets to corral, trap and “sedate” zookeeper Yumi Tamura (who was dressed in the zebra costume) while onlookers watched in amusement.
Advertisement
The zebra – actually a zoo staff member dressed up in a furry suit – supposedly bolted from a cage at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo after an quake destroyed its enclosure.
Workers perform their emergency roles and assess the zebra situation. The cast of “escaped animals” from previous drills includes a snow leopard, a gorilla, a much less believable zebra and a rhinoceros.
The zoo has performed similar drills with human rhinos, lions and monkeys.
A zookeeper uses a stick to check if the “escaped zebra” has been tranquilised.
Zookeepers feign injuries following a staged attack by an escaped zebra. The video features a person in a full Zebra suit, wandering aimlessly and on two legs between safety nets held by zoo workers.
She then pretends to collapse after being shot with a tranquillizer dart.
The staff practised evacuating the guests and capturing the zookeeper dressed in the zebra costume.
Advertisement
Around 150 members of staff, local police and fire department officials took part in the exercise.
