Americas News
Naughty orangutan forces closure of Colombian airport
Dec 3, 2007, 19:35 GMT
Bogota - An orangutan that escaped from its cage at a zoo forced authorities to close the airport in the central-western Colombian city of Pereira for around half an hour Monday.
Panchito, 9, escaped Matecana zoo and headed for the nearby airport, attracted by the noise of the airplanes.
The orangutan walked around the runway and the terminal, initially scaring workers and travellers.
But many were won over by Panchito's friendly behaviour and ended up having their picture taken with him.
Zoo spokesmen said Panchito had always appeared curious about the planes that fly over the zoo.
The animal was captured after sitting down to observe a plane up close. Zoo veterinarians sedated him and took him back to his cage.
Airport manager Diego Lopez said operations were temporarily suspended as a precaution, but noted that the orangutan was never a danger to the safety of flights.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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