Paris zoo to reopen after last truant baboons found

PARIS: Paris's main zoo was set to reopen Saturday after the last of around 50 baboons who had escaped from their enclosure were found overnight, the zoo authorities said.

A spokesperson for the National Museum of Natural History said two females and a baby were tracked down at around 4:15 am (0315 GMT).

The zoo is expected to reopen around noon.



"The professionalism of the wildlife teams at the Paris zoo allowed for a happy ending ... we are analysing the precise circumstances of the incident," the spokesperson said.

The baboons remain in the area of the "grand rocher", a landmark central mountain inaccessible to the public at the zoo in the lush Vincennes area of the French capital.



The breakout was first noticed by a zoo worker, who saw the primates gathering in a service corridor used by personnel late Friday morning.

Safety procedures were immediately triggered, the zoo said in a statement, with a total of 60 firefighters, 20 police and all of the zoo's staff mobilised to capture the animals.

None of the baboons reached public areas and the evacuation was ordered as a precaution, the zoo said.