On Wednesday, Swedish TV reported that several chimpanzees managed to leave their enclosures in the zoo, and staff shot dead three escaped monkeys. According to press, a total of four chimpanzees died in the incident.
"When the monkeys got out of the chimpanzee lodge, people's lives were in danger, both inside and outside of the park. Our monkeys are able to get out. Then this is a critical situation, and then there are no other options but to shoot to kill," Wilke said, as quoted by Swedish press.
The zoo expressed deep regret regarding the situation.
"What happened is a tragedy. We are extremely saddened by this whole situation, and this is a serious failure on our part," the zoo said in a statement.
According to Swedish media, the surviving chimpanzees managed to return back to the park and are not in danger. At the moment, three chimpanzees remain in the zoo.