Using just a 55 - gal barrel , three baboon liberated themselves the confines of a biomedical enquiry facility this weekend for about half an hour before they were captured and returned to incarceration .
Texas Biomedical Research Institute ( TBRI ) holds about 2,500 animals , include 1,100 baboons , which the adeptness use to test vaccines and drug therapies . The baboon are contained in a large open pen fill up with concrete tubes , climbing social organization ( literal monkey ginmill ) , and , until this calendar week , blue 55 - Imperial gallon barrels filled with grains so animals can seethe them around to stimulate out food — an effort to mimic foraging .
This large undetermined - air enclosure has inward - slant walls , which have prevent beast from bunk since it was progress about 35 yr ago . But on Saturday one baboon hear to put a barrelful upright and use it to get to the top of the wall . Then three other baboon imp - saw and monkey - did .
Four baboon scale the wall , but one returned on its own volition . The remaining three were savvy by members of the animal care and brute capture squad , which wore protective suits and mask . San Antonio news outletKSATreported that witnesses were refer the baboons were carrying infective disease . Anews releasefrom TBRI stated that the baboons were n’t taint .
TBRI Assistant Vice President for Communications Lisa Cruz confirmed to Gizmodo that the baboon were not being examine for medication that enhance intelligence service . ( Hey , we had to necessitate ! )
“ No , they are very smart animals , ” Cruz said . In fact , these exceptional baboons were not being used for a study . “ The baboon in the corral are in holding and are typically used for fostering or they ’re holding until we know what case of study they may be used for , ” she said .
This YouTube video from TBRI render what the inclosure looks like :
The barrel were only introduced to the enclosure six to eight calendar month ago . TBRI refers to them as “ enrichment tools . ”
“ They were in reality very utilitarian enrichment item , ” Cruz said . “ We really do n’t know how it got stood up , but somehow it got place upright up and it happen to be in just the right spot close enough to the wall of the enclosure that the baboon was capable to leap on top and then start out . It ’s their natural inclination to to get to the next gamy slur to climb . ”
But now these enrichment tools have been remove . Cruz say the baboons still have some climbing structures , but she ’s unsure what the barrels will be replaced with . She said that TBRI is “ always count at ways that we can heighten our enrichment for the animals . ”
Monkey
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