Tokyo Zoo Holds Rhino Containment Drill

Created: 2012-02-09 00:14 EST

Category: World > Asia Pacific

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This rhino at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo can smell freedom.

But zookeepers are prepared.

The paper mache rhino escape is all part of a drill to prepare the zoo for an actual animal emergency.

And even though far more sluggish than the real thing, the rhino got a little too close to one employee.

Zoo director Toshimitsu Doi says the paper mache rhino was used to create a more realistic effect.

[Toshimitsu Doi, Director, Ueno Zoological Gardens]:

"The drill might not be taken seriously if we used cute-looking puppets. That's not so bad. But we wanted the drill to look more real, so we used a paper-mache animal."

The drills are held annually at zoos around Tokyo to maintain readiness in the event of a natural disaster.

And visitors enjoyed the show.

[Hiromi Kubota, Zoo Visitor]:

"I've come to this zoo quite a few times. Although this was a training drill, it was interesting for me to see this sort of event for the first time."

Thanks to a tranquilizer dart the fearsome animal was finally captured.

And perhaps a little more easily than the real thing.