Escaped chimp returns to Ukrainian zoo only when he’s allowed to ride his keeper’s bicycle
A beautiful scene in the besieged city of Kharkiv
It took a bicycle to convince a chimpanzee named Chichi that escaped the Kharkiv city zoo on Monday to come home. Employees at the zoo were having a hard time trying to get the chimpanzee, who had left the zoo and was wandering around a nearby park, to come back.
However, once it started to rain the chimpanzee ran to one of the zookeepers who quickly put a yellow rain jacket on Chichi, definitely evoking some Curious George moments. Chichi then gave her a big hug and soon enough, he got a ride home on a bike.
On Monday, the zoo’s director, Oleksiy Hryhoriev, confirmed to Ukraine’s public broadcaster that the primate was safe and sound.
At the onset of the Russian invasion, Chichi had been evacuated from the Feldman Ecopark, an outdoor zoo on frontlines in the Kharkiv region.
Although Chichi is relatively safer in her current domicile than the outdoor zoo, the same can’t be said for other animals. Over 100 animals perished before they were able to be evacuated, according to the zoo’s owner, Oleksandr Feldman.
You can watch the adorable scene with Chichi below.
