Zoo worker in gorilla suit shot by vet in Tenerife

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A vet shot a tranquiliser dart at a zoo employee dressed as a gorilla after mistaking him for a primate.

The 35-year-old zoo employee was shot on Monday at Loro Parque Zoo on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Staff at the zoo were taking part in a drill designed to ensure they had an emergency plan in place in case one of the gorillas escaped its enclosure.

But the vet had not been informed of the training exercise, and fearing that there was a gorilla on the loose he sprang into action, according to La Opinión de Tenerife.

The vet fired the shot - designed for a 400lb gorilla - at the man and hit him in the leg.

According to the newspaper when the man was located he was in his underwear.

He was taken to the University Hospital of the Canary Islands.

The zoo said in a statement to MailOnline: "Last Monday, Loro Parque simulated the escape of an animal from its enclosure in the gorilla park.

"As part of the procedure, which took place in the security zone of the area and was only attended by authorised personnel of the park, they set off the emergency alarm used in this type of situation.

"Once the various activities and communications were carried out according to protocol, a keeper from the wild mammals team was struck by a tranquiliser shot that the vets use in this kind of situation using a cerbatana."

"As a result, he was quickly seen by paramedics and immediately taken to Hospital Universitario Canarias, where he was treated and then discharged.

"He has recovered well and is now in good health and is grateful for all the messages of concern he has received.

"As a matter of course, Loro Parque, like all zoos and animal parks, regularly carries out this kind of emergency drill.

"These simulations are designed to guarantee security, emergency measures, and to train people who work in these enclosures.

Tranquilliser darts are filled with a chemical that when injected, temporarily sedates an animal - they work within a matter of minutes.

The tranquilliser can be a sedative, anesthetic, or paralytic agent.

Zoos around the world carry out animal escape drills - and in the past they used a human dressed in a gorilla suit.

In a Tokyo zoo they practice surrounding the escapee with nets before pretending to shoot it with a tranquilising dart and returning it to its enclosure.

In 2009 Loro Parque hit the headlines when Alexis Martinez Hernandez, 29, a wildlife trainer, died after falling from a whale and crushing his rib cage.

Park officials said the whale, a 14-year-old named Keto - who was born at SeaWorld Orlando - made the unusual move as the pair rehearsed a stunt in which the whale lifts the trainer and leaps into the air.

- Daily Mail