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Vet shoots zoo keeper by mistake during gorilla escape drill Vet shoots zoo keeper by mistake during gorilla escape drill
(about 4 hours later)
A vet in a Spanish zoo shot a keeper with a tranquiliser dart when a gorilla escape drill went awry, knocking out the unfortunate victim who spent three days in hospital.A vet in a Spanish zoo shot a keeper with a tranquiliser dart when a gorilla escape drill went awry, knocking out the unfortunate victim who spent three days in hospital.
Zoo workers were performing the drill on Mondayat the Loro Park zoo, a popular holiday destination in Lanzarote on Spain's Canary Islands, when the vet shot a loaded dart at the 35-year-old man by mistake, Loro Park spokeswoman Patricia Delponti said. Zoo workers were performing the drill on Monday at the Loro Park zoo, a popular holiday destination in Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands, when the vet shot a loaded dart at the 35-year-old man by mistake, Loro Park spokeswoman Patricia Delponti said.
"For an unknown reason it fired accidently and hit his co-worker beside him in the leg. The dart was loaded to neutralise a 200kg (440lb) gorilla. So when it goes into a human weighing about 100kg it is very dangerous," she added."For an unknown reason it fired accidently and hit his co-worker beside him in the leg. The dart was loaded to neutralise a 200kg (440lb) gorilla. So when it goes into a human weighing about 100kg it is very dangerous," she added.
The vet injected an antidote into the keeper, who was rushed to intensive care at Tenerife's University hospital, where he woke eight hours later, the spokeswoman said. "He was obviously very woozy because of the tranquiliser dose he had received."The vet injected an antidote into the keeper, who was rushed to intensive care at Tenerife's University hospital, where he woke eight hours later, the spokeswoman said. "He was obviously very woozy because of the tranquiliser dose he had received."
After two days in intensive care and a day under observation, doctors discharged the keeper on Thursday.After two days in intensive care and a day under observation, doctors discharged the keeper on Thursday.
Delponti denied a Spanish newspaper report that the keeper had been dressed in a gorilla suit. "He was not disguised as a gorilla and was not wearing a hairy costume, and the vet did not get confused," she said. "It is impossible to confuse a gorilla with a human."Delponti denied a Spanish newspaper report that the keeper had been dressed in a gorilla suit. "He was not disguised as a gorilla and was not wearing a hairy costume, and the vet did not get confused," she said. "It is impossible to confuse a gorilla with a human."