A zoo in Japan has staged its annual emergency drill, this year featuring a keeper dressed as an escaped giant zebra.
Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan, carries out an annual test to see if keepers are able to handle extreme situations. Each year, it conducts the test with a different animal — in the past it has simulated gorilla, rhino, and orangutan emergencies.
On Tuesday, keepers acted out a scenario in which a zebra escaped its cage during an earthquake. It also involved the animal injuring a keeper and giving another a heart attack.
Thankfully the situation ended positively, with the fake zebra being shot with a fake stun gun and moved onto a pickup truck, much to the delight of gathered zoo visitors.
The zoo keepers play the animals in these drills as, thanks to their jobs, they have a deep understanding of how each animal would behave. Speaking to The Guardian, Yumi Tamura, the keeper who played the zebra, said she understood the animal's fear.
“The zebra is an animal that easily panics," she said. “I myself felt panicky when acting it out."
Same.
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