Chimpanzee bites woman after being hit by a broom in Hyderabad zoo

Hyderabad : Three people including a woman staff member of the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad suffered minor injuries after a female chimpanzee "hit and bit" them at the zoo premises today, officials said.

The incident occurred at around 9.45 am today, when the chimpanzee was being released from its 'night house' into the open enclosure, when it opened the bolt of the iron door and went towards a food court, even as an animal keeper followed it, they said.

A woman employee cleaning the zoo's food court hit it with a broom and the animal hit her in "retaliation", resulting in minor injuries to her fingers, zoo officials said.

The chimpanzee, then bit two other contract employees of the food court on their ankles, moved towards the lawn and sat there.

The authorities injected it with a mild sedative and got it shifted back to the 'night house', Nehru Zoologial Park Curator A Shankaran told PTI.

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"The animal is absolutely safe, while the three contract employees who suffered minor injuries have been given treatment as out-patients in different hospitals. They have been discharged and are doing fine," Mr Shankaran said.

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