THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Hanuman langur that escaped Thiruvananthapuram Zoo spreading panic has been found. The animal keepers found the langur inside the zoo premise, passing trees near the shed where wild buffalos are stationed. It was yesterday evening that the langur escaped the cage when the keepers opened it for cleaning.

The Hanuman langur reached the capital two weeks before when brought from Tirupati Venkateswara Museum. The primate was kept in quarantine and the keepers decided to house him in another cage after the visiting time ended. However, while opening the cage, the langur was clever enough to wiggle through little space out and never returned back putting the keepers in a fix.

The langur started cavorting between trees and then jumped to a branch that extended beyond the museum premise. Slowly, it walked in that direction adding more worries as the museum compound is surrounded by highly populated residences. A search was ordered immediately and some people even spotted the langur sitting on a coconut tree.

It is not the first time that a Hanuman langur is escaping from Thiruvananthapuram Zoo. Years back, two langurs escaped from the cage but were caught within a certain time as they never left beyond the museum compound. The Zoo authorities now look to seek service from the forest department to tranquilize the langur.