Fire Kills 13 Monkeys at Safari Park in England
On Tuesday morning, a fire broke out at the African Forest section of the Woburn Safari Park, 50 miles north of London, killing 13 patas monkeys. This is the second major fire at an animal park in England in two weeks that resulted in the death of animals.
Officials said that the fire was discovered during a routine patrol of the grounds. In a statement to the media, a park spokesperson said that nothing could be done to prevent the death of the monkeys.
"Staff and fire crews attended the scene; however, devastatingly for everyone at the park, none of the 13 animals could be saved," the park official said. By the time fire crews made it to the park, the roof had already collapsed in with 90% of the structure damaged.
The fire took over two hours to control and only the patas enclosure was affected; all other animals in the jungle drive-through section of the park were unharmed, according to the statement. A spokesperson also indicated that a generator fault may have caused the fire.
During the winter, the patas are housed in the enclosure due to cold temperatures. During the summer they are free roam the 16-acre exhibit, according to the Woburn Park website. The park remained open Tuesday morning with the African Forest drive-through enclosure closed off to visitors.
On December 23, a fire broke out in the London Zoo killing an aardvark and four meerkats. The cause of the fire, which caused additional damage to the zoo café, has still not been determined. Investigators will continue to determine the causes of the fires at both the London Zoo as well as at Woburn Park.
H/T: BBC News
Featured and inline images by John Stillwell/PA Images via Getty Images.
