INDIANAPOLIS — Several visitors at the Indianapolis Zoo told 13News Friday, Nov. 14, that the zoo had been placed on lockdown and they were told to return to their cars because a chimpanzee had escaped its enclosure.

A 13News team at the zoo found Indianapolis Fire Department and Indiana State Capitol Police crews at the scene, and a large crowd at the visitor's center.

Background on the Indianapolis Zoo's chimpanzee exhibit:

The zoo opened the International Chimpanzee Complex over Memorial Day weekend in 2024.

It is one of the largest communities of chimpanzees in the country, and the animals can move around on a trail system, which is hundreds of feet long.

"It is designed as best as we possibly can from the point of view of the chimpanzees first," said Dr. Rob Shumaker, president a

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