Israel zoo-goers come face-to-face with lost gorilla
Amelia, a three-year-old gorilla, fell out of her enclosure onto pedestrian walkway, to be joined by her sister after abortive rescue attempt.
Visitors to the Ramat Gan Safari this week were in for a surprise – in the form of Amelia, a three-year-old gorilla, strolling down the zoological center's pedestrian walkway.
Amelia, it turns out, fell from the gorilla's open enclosure into the moat separating the animals from the visitors. Ayana, her big sister, then tried to rescue her, and climbed down into the moat in an effort to help Amelia up again; but the two ended up rolling into the visitors' area.
Ayana managed to get back to the enclosure, while Amelia remained among the Safari visitors.
Safari staff called to the scene subdued Amelia with a tranquilizer and she was then returned to her gorilla family.
Elsewhere, Israel's first lady Nechama Rivlin and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat were on hand for the opening of the city's Deer Valley Park.
Some NIS 20 million has been invested in the urban nature preserve, which is home to a herd of deer, dozens of other animal species, indigenous vegetation, natural pools, and hiking and cycling trails.
