Two monkeys escape from cage at Hampshire zoo

Two monkeys caused 'chaos' at Hampshire's Marwell Zoo after escaping from their cage and putting visitors on "lockdown" on Saturday.

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After the pair of macaques escaped, visitors were asked to remain indoors while the keepers used huge nets to catch them.

Zoo-goers saw the funny side, with Philip Velton tweeting: "Taken hostage by a monkey at Marwell Zoo."

Dean Adams, 41, who was visiting with his son, told the Daily Mail: "We were looking at the animal enclosures and one of the employees who said she has been here for a few years said she had never seen anything like it.

"She started panicking when the monkey came running down the walkway. The monkey is quite dangerous and quite aggressive, it is small but has a big bite."

The zoo later tweeted that "the situation with our macaques is under control" and apologised "for any inconvenience."

In a statement, Marwell Zoo said: "At around 12.40pm this afternoon two of our adult Sulawesi black macaques escaped from their island enclosure. Zoo guests and staff were asked to remain indoors while our trained keepers dealt with the situation.

"The two macaques were returned to their home within 10 minutes. Guests were asked to remain indoors for a further 15-20 minutes while Keepers investigated a report from a member of the public that another macaque had been spotted outside its enclosure. It was quickly established that a third macaque had not escaped.

"We are grateful for the way in which our guests cooperated and thank them for their understanding. Our thanks to our Animal Management team who responded swiftly and carried out a model response.

"The two macaques have rejoined the rest of the family and all five will remain in the indoor part of their enclosure until a full investigation has been carried out. Our vet team has carried out checks and we are happy to report that the animals came to no harm. At no point were our guests at risk of any harm. The zoo remains open as usual."