Visitors to Auckland Zoo today were shocked to see a man break into the rhino enclosure and take a swim into the pond. Onlookers captured the shocking scene on social media, where the man bathed in the water next to a rhinoceros and her calf. He also reportedly “staunch walked” towards the zoo animals.
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“You saw him walking towards the bottom of the enclosure where we stood and the rhinos were running about quite rapidly,” an eyewitness told The Herald.
“People were murmuring thinking that he was a zookeeper until he got in the water and went swimming. Then a crowd just formed watching until the zookeepers came and cleared the area and got him out,” the witness said.
The man was soon removed from the enclosure by zoo staff and taken into police custody.
“No injuries were reported in relation to this incident to the individual or animals,” the police said.
Auckland Zoo and Auckland Council not yet commented on the incident.
