Rise of the ape

If you live in New Orleans, you understand that there are certain environmental hazards that come with it.  Carcinogens in the air, chemical sinkholes below your feet, constant threat of catastrophic flooding, power outages, boil water orders, Tom Benson... there's a long list. 

So it's easy to forget sometimes, that we also need to remain vigilant for the occasional escaped monkey.

NEW ORLEANS - The Audubon Zoo was closed for about an hour Friday when a small primate became loose, according to a zoo spokesperson.

Eyewitness Jennifer Wester Clark reported that she and others were being ushered to the cafe area.
By 11:10 a.m., the visitors were able to walk freely, but the primate area was roped off, according to Clark.

The zoo reopened around 11:15 a.m.

Quick thinking by zoo staff to rope off the area.  Everyone knows how easily monkeys are foiled by velvet ropes.  Not so with locked gates prone to "jiggling" as we learned some years back.

The fact is escaped monkeys are far more common in these parts than one might think.  Unfortunately there isn't much residents can do to prepare for these incidents other than remain vigilant.  Oh, and don't take the monkeys to Bourbon Street and dress them up as pirates. That appears to end badly.

In the meantime Chief Serpas is working on an appropriate DWI checkpoint-centric strategy for responding to future monkey emergencies. We'll try and stay updated as that develops.