Zookeeper Seriously Injured After Being Attacked By Gorilla

A zookeeper in Madrid has been seriously injured at the city's zoo after she was attacked by a gorilla.

A 46-year-old woman was taken to hospital after suffering a head injury, two broken arms and chest trauma with multiple fractures.

The 29-year-old male ape is called Malabo and he weighs at least 200kg. The Male Western Lowland Gorilla has lived at the zoo for his whole life, having been born there in 1991.

PA

First aiders attempted to stabilise the woman at the scene of the incident, before she was rushed to Madrid Clinical Hospital. Her condition is currently being described as serious and she is still being treated.

The incident is being classed as a work accident by the Municipal Police of Madrid, who have taken over the investigation.

The zoo issued a statement on what happened.

It reads: "Given the event that occurred this morning with a gorilla keeper from the Madrid Zoo, we share our official note and our wishes for a speedy recovery for this worker.

"The events took place this morning, around 10am when a keeper with 19 years of experience at the zoo accessed the indoor facilities for the usual breakfast routine, cleaning and preparing the facilities.

"Upon entering a secure area with a triple door, the caretaker met Malabo, a 29-year-old male gorilla, who had accessed it. The reasons why the animal was able to access the area are being investigated internally. However, the judicial investigation will determine the exact details."

Twitter/@EmergenciasMad

According to the statement, the interior area of the zoo was separate to the public area, with there being no chance of the gorilla escaping.

The zoo's emergency procedure was quickly put into place, with an emergency team and municipal police being notified.

It continued: "The Zoo team managed to remove the animal and later, the veterinary team anesthetised the animal with a tranquiliser dart, which was transferred to its interior bedroom and at the moment, it is calm.

Twitter/@EmergenciasMad

"Note that Malabo has been raised by his caregivers since he was born with a protective behaviour towards the group and close to his caregivers. At this time, the caregiver has a reserved prognosis and the first thing is to wish her speedy recovery.

"Today, the gorilla facilities will remain closed so that both Malabo and the rest of the group are calm."

Topics: Animals

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward