Yesterday, the Maryland Zoo opened its new $500,000 prairie dog habitat.  Unfortunately, within ten minutes, several prairie dogs tested the limits of their new home and found multiple escape routes.  Climbing and jumping over the walls, the prairie dogs had zoo workers in a frenzy chasing after them with nets.

In the end, all the prairie dogs were returned and the enclosure was secured.

For more info, see: Baltimore Sun

To learn more about prairie dogs and their interesting behavior, see Animal Fact Guide’s article about Black-tailed Prairie Dogs.

At the Adelaide Zoo, Karta, a 27-year-old female orangutan hatched an ingenious plan to escape from her enclosure. Jamming a stick into the wires of the electric fence surrounding her, she short-circuited the system. She then piled up debris near the concrete and glass wall and climbed out. However, after literally sitting on the fence for half an hour, she decided to go back in the enclosure after all. Zoo veterinarians stood by with tranquilizer guns just in case.

For more info on Karta, see MSNBC.com.

To learn more about orangutans and their clever use of tools, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Bornean Orangutan.