NB Press: Escape mystifies zoo residents

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Posted by Wes von Papine�u on July 02, 2002 at 11:28:50:

TIMES & TRANSCRIPT (Moncton, New Brunswick) 01 July 02 Escape mystifies zoo residents (Charles Perry)
It has been three weeks now and still no one knows their whereabouts. They have virtually disappeared into thin air.
It is nothing short of remarkable. It has to be the greatest escape story ever.
The warden and his staff are still shaking their heads about the overnight getaway. They are still befuddled about how it could have happened right in front of their very noses.
They never saw it coming.
And neither did any of the other inmates. But it is all they have been talking about since the fateful night of June 8. In fact, a bunch of the inmates were discussing the great escape just the other day in the exercise yard.
"Who could have believed someone could have pulled off such a successful escape from the Magnetic Hill Zoo," remarked one of the monkeys. "It seemed to be impenetrable from inside, it was like the Alcatraz of Moncton.
If any of us could have pulled it off, you would think it would have been one of us monkeys," he continued. "We are such good climbers and are so agile."
"Well, I would think we would have had the best chance to blow this joint," chimed in one of the tigers. "We weigh several hundred pounds, have great strength and can move at a pretty good clip."
"But those four tortoises being the ones to pull off a fool-proof escape and vanish from sight has to be the long shot of all time," added one of the cockatoos. "Not only can they not fly like us, but they can barely move."
The rabbits appeared to be the most upset among the captives over what had occurred. One of them, with his nose twitching like crazy, remarked "We are way faster than they are, more athletic and much smarter. I would have bet anything that we would have escaped before they did."
"I can hardly believe it," added another hare. "But the tortoises have beaten us, once again."
The first rabbit said he tried to warn warden Bruce Dougan to keep any eye on the tortoises. "I told him 'They may be slow, but they are steady.' "
"You have to admit," noted one of the raccoons who decided to join in the conversation, "that was one whale of a clever scheme those tortoises came up with. When they requested the pin-up picture for their quarters in the ecodome, who would have thought they were using it to cover the escape route they were digging?"
"What do you mean by 'pin-up,' " said one of the monkeys. "It just looks like another turtle to me."
"For Heaven's sake, they're tortoises," replied the raccoon. "Maybe the tortoise on the pin-up picture had suggestive markings on her shell. How would I know what turns on a turtle? But the important thing is the plan worked," he said.
"Yeah, it worked all right," snarled the monkey. "Thanks to them, warden Dougan has banned all pin-ups until further notice."
But it was clever of the zoo's staff to get out the story that the tortoises were stolen, said a bear who happened to be wandering by. It would have been pretty embarrassing if it got out that they have escaped, he added.
"Well, if those tortoises are ever recaptured, I'm betting we will be having turtle soup with our regular meals for the next few days," said the monkey.
And so goes the story of The Great Escape along with my apologies to Bruce and Stephen (King, that is).
However, in all seriousness, anyone with information regarding the theft of the two yellow-footed tortoises native to South America, and two African leopard tortoises from the zoo's ecodome, should certainly contact the law authorities. The rare reptiles can fetch up to $3,000 apiece from collectors in different parts of the world. Bruce Dougan, general manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo, has received e-mails from reptile collectors throughout the province, informing him that they have put the information of the missing tortoises on their personal Web sites.
Also, Bruce tells me that pet stores, other zoos, the Canadian Wildlife Service and Customs Canada have all been made aware of the theft and are keeping their eyes open for any clues as to where the rare tortoises might be.

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: TIMES & TRANSCRIPT (Moncton, New Brunswick) 01 July 02 Escape mystifies zoo residents (Charles Perry) : It has been three weeks now and still no one knows their whereabouts. They have virtually disappeared into thin air. : It is nothing short of remarkable. It has to be the greatest escape story ever. : The warden and his staff are still shaking their heads about the overnight getaway. They are still befuddled about how it could have happened right in front of their very noses. : They never saw it coming. : And neither did any of the other inmates. But it is all they have been talking about since the fateful night of June 8. In fact, a bunch of the inmates were discussing the great escape just the other day in the exercise yard. : "Who could have believed someone could have pulled off such a successful escape from the Magnetic Hill Zoo," remarked one of the monkeys. "It seemed to be impenetrable from inside, it was like the Alcatraz of Moncton. : If any of us could have pulled it off, you would think it would have been one of us monkeys," he continued. "We are such good climbers and are so agile." : "Well, I would think we would have had the best chance to blow this joint," chimed in one of the tigers. "We weigh several hundred pounds, have great strength and can move at a pretty good clip." : "But those four tortoises being the ones to pull off a fool-proof escape and vanish from sight has to be the long shot of all time," added one of the cockatoos. "Not only can they not fly like us, but they can barely move." : The rabbits appeared to be the most upset among the captives over what had occurred. One of them, with his nose twitching like crazy, remarked "We are way faster than they are, more athletic and much smarter. I would have bet anything that we would have escaped before they did." : "I can hardly believe it," added another hare. "But the tortoises have beaten us, once again." : The first rabbit said he tried to warn warden Bruce Dougan to keep any eye on the tortoises. "I told him 'They may be slow, but they are steady.' " : "You have to admit," noted one of the raccoons who decided to join in the conversation, "that was one whale of a clever scheme those tortoises came up with. When they requested the pin-up picture for their quarters in the ecodome, who would have thought they were using it to cover the escape route they were digging?" : "What do you mean by 'pin-up,' " said one of the monkeys. "It just looks like another turtle to me." : "For Heaven's sake, they're tortoises," replied the raccoon. "Maybe the tortoise on the pin-up picture had suggestive markings on her shell. How would I know what turns on a turtle? But the important thing is the plan worked," he said. : "Yeah, it worked all right," snarled the monkey. "Thanks to them, warden Dougan has banned all pin-ups until further notice." : But it was clever of the zoo's staff to get out the story that the tortoises were stolen, said a bear who happened to be wandering by. It would have been pretty embarrassing if it got out that they have escaped, he added. : "Well, if those tortoises are ever recaptured, I'm betting we will be having turtle soup with our regular meals for the next few days," said the monkey. : And so goes the story of The Great Escape along with my apologies to Bruce and Stephen (King, that is). : However, in all seriousness, anyone with information regarding the theft of the two yellow-footed tortoises native to South America, and two African leopard tortoises from the zoo's ecodome, should certainly contact the law authorities. The rare reptiles can fetch up to $3,000 apiece from collectors in different parts of the world. Bruce Dougan, general manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo, has received e-mails from reptile collectors throughout the province, informing him that they have put the information of the missing tortoises on their personal Web sites. : Also, Bruce tells me that pet stores, other zoos, the Canadian Wildlife Service and Customs Canada have all been made aware of the theft and are keeping their eyes open for any clues as to where the rare tortoises might be.

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