Ben, an Andean bear, has escaped from his enclosure at the Saint Louis Zoo. The grounds are on lockdown, and people are sheltering in place.
FOX 2 is told that zoo personnel have eyes on Ben. They say he is hanging around the River’s Edge, not far from his habitat. All guests are currently inside buildings and safe. They are determining a plan to get Ben home or some place he cannot escape. They say everyone near the Zoo should stay in their car and don’t get out.
This is not the first time the bear has escaped his enclosure this month. The bear briefly got out on February 8 for about an hour and a half.
The last time this happened zoo officials did not suspect human fault or tampering was involved in the escape. Rather, this was a Goldilocks-esque case of Ben toying just the right spot on the steel mash surrounding his outdoor habitat, which caused a cable to give way and allowed Ben to make his way out.
Ben was born approximately three years ago at the Queens Zoo and was transferred to the Saint Louis Zoo in July 2021 as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Andean Bear Species Survival Plan (SSP).