15 Times People Have Fallen Into Zoo Exhibits

1. Detroit Man Jumps Into Pit to Rescue Drowning Chimp

In 1990, a man named “Rick Swope” attempted to save a drowning chimp by jumping into the chimpanzee exhibit. The truck driver, who was 33 at the time, couldn’t stand to sit by and watch the struggling animal, who was thrashing and fighting for its life, so he jumped into the enclosure to save him, to the shock of his wife and three children. He said later, “It was the most pitiful thing I ever saw. This chimp had his hands up, and his head was sticking out of the water. He was looking at the crowd. It was like he wanted someone to rescue him.” The chimp weighed 135 pounds, but the five-foot-ten, 200-pound Swope found him at the bottom of the dirty water and dragged him up the slope of the pool and onto land. The chimp never tried to hurt his rescuer, and it survived nearly drowning because of him. During his daring mission, zoo workers warned Swope to get out, but visitors cheered him on. Swope didn’t get injured during this incident, and he was thanked by the zoo for his heroic, life-saving action.