Watch: Man breaks into Auckland Zoo rhino enclosure
Wednesday, 19 April 2023
A man has broken into an African enclosure at Auckland Zoo where he spent 15 minutes inside the fence, bathed in a pond and “staunch walked” towards animals.
Stuff has obtained videos of an adult man bathing in the water area of an enclosure which is home to adult rhino and nyala antelope.
A witness has also told Stuff that the man proceeded to walk up a dusty hill in the enclosure, towards animals.
One video showed the person in a pond, floating on his back as well as washing his face and head.
Two antelope appear to watch the man taking a dip from a safe distance at the top of the enclosure’s hill.
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A witness, who asked not to be identified, was standing next to him when he jumped into the enclosure.
She first thought that a child or an item must have fallen into the enclosure and the man was going to rescue it.
However, the man dusted himself off from the 1.5m drop, and proceeded to walk up the hill where the animals where.
The witness said the man “staunch walked” the antelope and walked back and forth around the enclosure.
“I couldn’t believe he was in there,” she said.
“He was not well.
She left with her children so she could alert a volunteer.
She was also worried that if the man was injured by an animal it would be traumatic for her children.
She said the man appeared to be alone and didn’t have any friends or family with him.
“It was kind of crazy,” she said.
She said her children saw the man and said “that’s naughty” after she had warned them not to get into the enclosure earlier in the visit.
She said the man would have spent 15 minutes in the enclosure.
The man was removed by Auckland Zoo staff and a security guard, where he was let out of a side gate in Western Springs.
A second witness said she saw rhinos “running about quite rapidly” as the man walked through the enclosure.
They said a crowd formed watching the man in the water before zoo staff cleared the crowd and removed the man from the water.
Police said the man was quickly removed by zoo staff and then arrested.
The man is yet to be charged.
The police spokesperson said they had responded to reports of a person entering an enclosure at 11.25am.
No injuries were reported to police, either to the man or to any animals.
A spokesperson for Auckland Zoo said staff quickly and safely resolved the incident after the man had walked through the enclosure and then spent a number of minutes in the moat.
The man then responded to staff instructions and got out of the enclosure.
“The rhinos and nyala were understandably startled by the intruder and moved quickly away to the far end of the habitat where zookeepers were able to safely hold them,” the spokesperson said.
Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley said he was proud of how his staff responded to the incident.
“We are all very relieved that there were no injuries to either the animals or people as a result of what happened this morning. We hope that the man involved gets the help and support that he very clearly needs,” Buley said.
The zoo’s website says southern white rhinos can reach 1.8 metres tall and 2.5 tonnes of weight.
According to the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) rhino programme manager Dr Joseph Okori, white rhinos are more “gregarious” and calm than black rhinos.
“They respond to threats by just running away.”
Southern white rhinos are poor swimmers but like to wallow in mud to cool themselves down, WWF said.