Parachutist accidentally lands in monkey enclosure of Dutch zoo
By Simone Jacobs
A parachutist took an unexpected trip to the zoo when he accidentally missed his mark, landing in the bonobo enclosure of a Dutch zoo in Rhenen.
Man parachutes into bonobo enclosure of Dutch zoo
While gliding his way to the centre of a football field where new artificial grass was being inaugurated, a parachutist accidentally veered off track and found himself in the bonobo habitat of the Ouwehands Zoo in Rhenen.
Fortunately for the man, the monkeys were indoors at the time of his landing and no one was hurt. "100 meters further and he would have landed in the elephant or lion enclosure," zoo director Robin de Lange told NOS.
Plan needed to prevent further parachuting problems
While it may seem comical to spectators, it could have been a serious incident if the bonobos were outside during the landing. Either the parachutist or the animals could have been harmed.
In order to prevent similar problems from happening again in the future, the zoo plans on talking to the sports club. "It was a real shock," said De Lange. "This really must never happen again."
Thumb image credit: SasaAntic / Shutterstock.com
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Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more