Fake Zebra ‘Escapes’ in Tokyo Zoo

Fake zebra escapes: Several dozen staff members at the Tama Zoological Park in Japan chased a keeper dressed as a zebra as part of a training exercise to simulate an animal escape.
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Fake Zebra ‘Escapes’ in Tokyo Zoo
4/2/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

A staff member dressed in a zebra suit and ran around so as to simulate an animal breaking out of the zoo’s confines.

The drill involved staff members tackling the zoo staff member and stun-gun simulations, according to the Daily Telegraph.  

Yosuke Tanaka, 31, pretended to be the zebra.

“I'd have to warn them that the inside does indeed become a bit stinky with sweat and so they should think about how to deal with that,” he told future staff members who plan on donning the suit in the drill, according to the Telegraph.

Zoo director Naoki Tabata told ITN news several months ago that the simulation is a yearly event that is part of an earthquake drill.

“If something major actually happens, then of course there’s the real animals,” he said. “But there is a performance aspect to this, in that it’s also to increase staff’s awareness. If something were to actually escape then of course that would be very bad.”