Monday, Jun. 24, 2013
Evelyn the Gorilla, Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Zoo has seen its fair share of escapes (see Virginia the Wolf, also on this list), but nothing comes close to the rash of animals — including zebras, chimps, kangaroos and antelopes — that cunningly made a run for it in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Los Angeles Times reported that in the span of half a decade, at least 35 animals escaped the zoo, including the infamous gorilla Evelyn. Over the years, Evelyn escaped her enclosure some four or five times. Once she jumped onto another gorilla's back to hop over the wall. Another time, she used some overgrown vines to pull herself out of her exhibit. She then had full run of the zoo for an hour as TV-news copters hovered overhead and visitors were evacuated.