Memphis Zoo Monitoring Escaped Monkey Hiding on Zoo Grounds

Memphis Zoo staff has been monitoring the 3-year old monkey around the clock.

ByABC News
July 10, 2015, 11:20 AM

— -- Officials at Tennessee's Memphis Zoo are monitoring a monkey who managed to get inside the zoo's infrastructure.

They are still trying to figure out how 3-year-old Zimm escaped her enclosure.

Zimm made a break for it around 3 p.m. Thursday, zoo spokeswoman Laura Doty, told ABC News today.

Zimm sneaked into a culvert — which is like a drainage ditch — Doty said, through which the monkey had access to the internal zoo system.

"We never lost her. We knew where she was at all times, she just ended up in the culvert," Doty said.

And the culvert is where Zimm remains today, Doty said.

Zoo staff has been monitoring Zimm around the clock and feeding her fresh produce "in an attempt to kind of coax her out," Doty said.

Doty called the escape "a very rare occurrence."

"She's just a very spirited, athletic animal," Doty said. "At this time, we don't know exactly how she got out of her enclosure, but we do know that we will conduct a thorough investigation afterwards."

PHOTO: Memphis Zoo employees try to reach Zimm, the 3-year-old monkey who escaped from her enclosure.
Memphis Zoo employees try to reach Zimm, the 3-year-old monkey who escaped from her enclosure.