Orangutan Goes On Loose In Florida Animal Park

Visitors had to be evacuated from part of an animal theme park when an orangutan escaped from its enclosure and climbed trees.

Video footage showed the large female sitting about 20ft above a large crowd at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

At one point, the orangutan drops to the floor and climbs on to a display board, prompting screams from some of those standing nearby.

A witness told Fox News: "It climbed up out of the habitat and towards the guest area, just near the Zambia Smokehouse, which is in Stanleyville."

Some of those in the park told how they were suddenly told to move.

Bianca Guzman told the Tampa Bay Times: "They didn't really share much of what was going on. They just told us to please stay calm."

The orangutan was eventually shot with a tranquiliser dart and was subsequently returned to its enclosure.

No injuries were reported to park guests or employees.

The park later released a statement, but it has not yet emerged how the animal escaped.

The statement said: "This afternoon, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay moved guests safely out of the Stanleyville area of the park when a female orangutan was outside her habitat.

"The animal care team responded immediately and the animal is back safely and securely in the habitat without incident. The safety of our guests, employees and animals is our number one priority."

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it was carrying out an investigation.

ABC News said the animal was an 18-year-old named Luna and was the second to have left its enclosure while the public were in the part in just over two weeks.