Tallinn Zoo moves binturongs after four escape attempts

Young binturongs at Tallinn Zoo made four successful attempts to escape their enclosure within a few weeks, prompting the zoo to close its tropical house to visitors, ERR reported. The siblings, Maru and Maimu, have since been moved to a new enclosure that is harder to escape from.

The first escape took place at the end of August, when an Ironman event was being held in Rocca al Mare and a large stage had been set up near the zoo.

“It was a very noisy weekend, and several animals were disturbed by it,” said Tiiu Ramst, a senior animal keeper at Tallinn Zoo. She said the stage and wind had directed unusually loud sound towards the zoo. The binturongs escaped at night, when they are most active, apparently looking for a quieter place.

The animals were quickly caught the first time, but their later attempts caused greater problems. During the second escape, Maru climbed onto a ventilation pipe high beneath the ceiling, above an enclosure with a roof at a 45-degree angle. Staff could not reach the animal, so the tropical house had to be closed while they waited for it to move.

Maru eventually left on the third day after becoming hungry. The zoo then added a barrier to the enclosure and increased the voltage in the electric fence. That also failed to stop the siblings.

“It is possible that, because of stress, they were very determined to escape and took the risk of jumping onto the rock with their stomachs against the electric fence,” Ramst said. “They have very thick fur, and it seems the fence did not affect them through their coat.”

After the fourth successful escape, the siblings were moved to an empty adjacent enclosure covered with netting. They have tried to break out of that enclosure as well, but so far without success.

The young animals, who had been used to sleeping cuddled up with their parents, initially reacted badly to the move. “They were very sad. At first, they stayed indoors for several days and did not want to come into this enclosure. When they did, they only climbed along the edge of the rock, trying to squeeze through the netting, and became stuck between the rock and the net,” Ramst said.

According to Ramst, the binturong siblings are now beginning to accept their new home. As they are also approaching adulthood, they would soon have had to leave their parents anyway.