It should go without saying, but you have to be careful bringing a dog to the zoo. The animal kingdom isn’t a harmonious one, and all creatures great and small are prone to fighting with one another, no matter how great some of those creatures may be.
Recently, a male shepherd got into the gorilla cage at the San Diego Zoo. The dog entered the gorilla enclosure on his own. Once he was inside, the dog and the gorilla squared off, sharing a tense moment. Then, the gorilla made a dash for the dog and chased it around the cage. Visitors to the zoo noticed the gorilla chasing the dog and yelled “Frankie,” the gorilla’s name, in order to distract it and keep it from getting the dog. According to Twitter, zoo-goers also tried to lure the dog out of the enclosure, but to no avail.
This being the iPhone age, the whole fiasco was caught on camera.
A KUSI viewer was at the #SanDiegoZoo Safari Park today & sent this video of a dog that got inside the gorilla exhibit. Bystanders tried distracting the gorillas to coax the dog out. Staff eventually escorted people out of the area. We’ve reached out to officials for more info. pic.twitter.com/mzqwovTsdN
— Hunter Sowards (@huntersowards3) June 13, 2022
Eventually, the zoo staff cleared the zoo-goers out of the area. The San Diego Humane Society helped to rescue the dog. “As soon as zoo staff saw the dog, they moved the gorillas out,” the San Diego Humane Society said in a statement. The dog was then safely removed from the gorilla enclosure. The San Diego Zoo also noted that recall training is part of the park’s safety precautions.
Currently, the authorities are trying to locate the dog’s owner, but the dog has no microchip. “Animal Caregivers have given the dog a shelter name of ‘Mighty Joe Young.’ We are so glad no one was hurt,” the Humane Society said on Twitter. Reportedly, Mighty Joe Young is doing well.
The dog is a male shepherd, with no microchip. He has been placed on stray hold at our Escondido Campus, as we search for his owner. Animal Caregivers have given the dog a shelter name of “Mighty Joe Young.”
We are so glad no one was hurt. pic.twitter.com/9wekB6aTnV— San Diego Humane Society (@sdhumane) June 13, 2022
It’s unclear how Mighty Joe Young made it into the gorilla enclosure that day. The dog did not belong to a visitor, and it didn’t belong to the zoo. The zoo is also far away from homes and businesses, making the mystery more confounding.
There’s speculation that the dog belonged to someone who brought it in, claiming it was a service dog. If so, this should serve as a sober warning for those who pretend regular dogs are service dogs. It can be potentially dangerous for the dog, especially if they’re being taken to an environment like a zoo.
Unfortunately, many unattended domestic dogs were found at the San Diego Zoo that day. Fortunately, only one dog made it into an animal enclosure – but things could have been a lot worse.
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