Adam, the second of the two chimpanzees which escaped from the Sa Coma Safari Park on Monday, was found dead, drowned in a sewage plant near the zoo yesterday.The tragic ends for both chimpanzees which used to belong to the former German car hire magnate Hasso who owned a private zoo at his estate in Son Sardina, has raised questions about ethics of keeping such primates caged.
Adam was found drowned in a reservoir at a water treatment park near to the zoo yesterday morning, four days after his mate Eve was shot dead by the authorities on Monday.
The primate couple - a male and a female called Adam and Eve - ran off together after breaking down the bars of their cage.
The 70kg chimps went on a rampage through the zoo’s bar forcing tourists to take refuge in their own cars.
Authorities launched a search, scrambling a helicopter to join a unit from the Civil Guard’s specialist animal unit Seprona as well as teams from the zoo and the Local Police and Civil Protection.
But the chimpanzee’s’ bid for freedom took a tragic turn when Eva was shot dead.
Her mate evaded capture and was still on the loose despite intensive search operation by local police and Seprona.
His body was finally discovered early yesterday morning, floating face down in the pool. Animal rights groups were quick to criticise both the conditions that the apes had been kept in and the way they were treated after the escape.
They have called for an investigation to be opened by the Balearic government into the escaped chimpanzees and how the search was handled.
Questions were asked over why Eve had been shot dead and not simply captured using a tranquilizing dart after her escape.
The Guardia Civil did give an explanation on Wednesday, pointing out that Eve was not within the required range of 20 metres to use tranquiliser darts and was also in a very agitated and nervous state, posing a potential threat to humans.
“She was very agitated and there was a risk that she might attack a member of the search party,” a Guardia Civil police spokesman said.
“It wasn’t possible to use tranquilizer darts because on animals that big it takes about five minutes to have an effect.”