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Greatest Zoo Escapes Across The Globe

We love to look at them but these zoo animals didn't fancy being the centre of attention - and made a run for it!

Some zoos are more famous for their animal escapes than the animals that stay behind bars.

But while some are dramatic one-off escapes, others are regular wanderings the animals make, before coming back home. Pet insurance experts at Go Compare picked out their favourite escape stories:

Rhino trio tiptoes past sleeping zookeeper

(Times of Israel)
(Times of Israel)

The most recent escape is from early in 2015, when a young female rhinoceros named Rihanna decided to lead an escape from a safari park after spotting a security guard fast asleep.

Rihanna and two other rhinos made a dash for the front entrance of the Ramat Gan Safari Park in the Tel Aviv district of western Israel. The dozing guard soon woke but was too late to prevent the daring trio from tearing away down the road.

Local police and zoo staff worked together to heard the rhinos back into the park before they could hurt themselves - or anyone else!

Bangkok elephant cosies up to car in mating frenzy

(Intarachai Panichakul)
(Intarachai Panichakul)

A fully-grown elephant crashed into a family car being driven through the Khao Yai National Park near Bangkok by a family on its way to the National Children’s Day celebrations nearby. The large mammal caused severe damage by resting its front legs on the vehicle but fortunately caused no major harm to the shocked passengers.

It is believed that the elephant may have developed stress during the mating season after being forced out of its herd, after which its attempt to escape was momentarily distracted by the collision of moving vehicle.

Ken Allen the orang-utan earns ‘The Hairy Houdini’ status

(Theo Allofs : Corbis)
(Theo Allofs : Corbis)

Ken Allen aka ‘the hairy Houdini’ became one of the most popular animals in the history of the San Diego Zoo because of his many successful escapes from his enclosures.

His wily antics outwitted zookeepers time and time again, and they were forced to go "undercover", posing as tourists to learn Ken Allen's escape route. Ken would leave his quarters regularly and roam the grounds of the zoo without a care for the staff and visitors. Other orang-utans began following Ken Allen's lead and began escaping from the enclosure too.

Nikica the neighbourhood Hippopotamus

(CNN)
(CNN)

Nikica, Montenegro's only hippo, has been a private zoo resident for over a decade but unbeknown to many tourists the huge beast has a habit of popping up outside of his usual compound. When flooding occurs the water levels rise within the zoo rise and Nikica is able to swim freely out of his pen.

It thought that during bouts of flooding Nicika can swim as far as 4km away before returning. But though hippos have a bit of a reputation for being dangerous, the locals aren't afraid of this one, as Nikica is known to be peaceful and tame.

Bronx Zoo Cobra swaps zoo life for social media fame 

(Twitter)
(Twitter)

In a recent mishap at the Bronx Zoo, a venomous Egyptian cobra escaped from its enclosure, which led to a six-day breakout frenzy. The adventurous reptile was found "coiled, sort of secluded in a dark corner" about 9am a couple hundred feet away from the enclosure she had slipped out of.

The cobra built up a huge Twitter following since its disappearance, with daily posts going out on behalf of the reptile that engaged social media users on both sides of the Atlantic.

Reggie the alligator’s return to the city

(LA Times)
(LA Times)

Reggie, a fully-grown alligator, was illegally raised as a pet and dumped in the lake when it got too big. Despite the attempts of specialist teams to capture Reggie he stayed under the radar in lakes for almost three months. Reggie was eventually safely transported to Los Angeles Zoo in 2006.

Unfortunately the alligator had developed a taste for hide and seek and bypassed a huge wall to escape his zoo surroundings. Reggie was later found nearby his enclosure. He now has a huge following at the zoo with his face being used on merchandise such as t-shirts and the inspiration behind a musical hit.

Tiger gives himself up in the name of love

(BBC)
(BBC)

A Royal Bengal tiger became a fugitive after disappearing from the Nandan Kanan Zoological Park in India in 2013 only to return under unusual circumstances one week later.

The six-year-old male tiger, which had vanished into the forests surrounding the zoo after jumping an 18-ft enclosure was spotted re-entering the safari area of the zoo by CCTV cameras. It is suggested that the tiger was apparently attracted back to its by tigress Sara.

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