Tuesday morning, Mike and Karibuna escaped from their enclosure due to human error in closing. Because the chimpanzees displayed “imposing” behavior, they were shot.
Hatter was near the monkey enclosure yesterday when he received a call that the two had escaped. “Precisely because I know them so well, I was in extra danger. I had to stay away.”
A solution
Deep in his heart, Hoedemaker knew there would probably only be one solution. “It’s better to have a lion or a tiger running loose than a chimpanzee. They can move through the trees as easily as they can on the road. In minutes, they can be out of the park and disappear into a residential area. avoid at all costs. “
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This morning a demonstration took place for the zoo by action group Alle Dieren Vrij. “They call us killers, but believe me, you really don’t shoot an animal just like that,” says Hoedemaker. He feels terrible about the death of the chimpanzees. “I’m devastated. I feel empty. I’ve always said, if Mike dies, I’m in bad shape.”
He understands that people wonder why they couldn’t just stun the animals. “But we really don’t do this just like that. It’s so painful for everyone involved. It hurts even more when people who don’t understand it say it should have been different.”
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Chimpanzee Mike was offered as a young monkey by a circus. At the time, Mike ended up with four other females in Amersfoort Animal Park. “At that time we had five totally orphaned animals. One monkey came from a woman who couldn’t have children and so had only taken a monkey. One came from a prostitute, and another monkey was exchanged for a pack of cigarettes. “
Godfather of the chimpanzees
In total there were four females and Mike. Mike eventually grew up to be the ‘godfather’ of chimpanzees. “They really became the most social coexisting group of monkeys there was.”
As Mike got older and stronger, so did the understanding of how to interact with the animals. Marjo still visited his friend, but now from behind glass. “When I walked by, he always recognized me out of thousands. Then he came to the window and gave a kiss.”
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Monkey behavior expert Godelieve Kranendonk of the AAP Foundation calls the choice of shooting to be the only correct one. According to her, people underestimate the danger. She explains that impressive behavior in monkeys is the start of aggressive behavior. Chances are that someone who is attacked by a monkey will no longer be able to tell that. Stuning a monkey can also induce aggression in them.
Moreover, it can take half an hour for an anesthetic to work. By that time they may have long since fled and disappeared from view. Godelieve understands the criticism, but finds it wrong. “You just can’t take those kinds of risks. What if they had taken a child? Then the reactions would have been very different.”
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Animal Emergency Response Committee and Animal Earth believe the zoo has broken the law by shooting the animals immediately. They demand an independent investigation.
In a statement, director Astrid Wassenaar of DierenPark Amersfoort announced that they are in extensive talks with the police. “We will cooperate fully with any investigation,” said Wassenaar.
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