Monkey business: Chacha the runaway chimp survives fall from power line in Japan

The male chimp escaped from Sendai Yagiyama Zoological Park with keepers in hot pursuit but climbed up an electricity pole

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Male chimpanzee Chacha screams at a man trying to capture him on power lines in a residential area of the northeastern Japan city of Sendai on April 14, 2016, after escaping from nearby Yagiyama Zoological Park. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 7:08pm, 14 Apr 2016Updated: 7:08pm, 14 Apr 2016

A runaway chimpanzee in Japan was shot with a tranquiliser gun only to hang precariously from a power line before falling to the ground and surviving in a drama shown live on national television.

The chimp, 24-year-old Chacha, was more fortunate than a zebra which escaped from a Tokyo zoo last month, its bid for freedom ending in death when it collapsed in a water trap after also being shot with a tranquiliser.

The chimp escaped from Sendai Yagiyama Zoological Park with keepers in hot pursuit but climbed up an electricity pole.

We are investigating why he escaped

Zoo staffer Toshikazu Abe

Zoo officials shot the chimp with the tranquiliser which eventually kicked in and caused him to lose his footing, though he managed to grab hold of a power line with one hand.

Male chimpanzee Chacha is spotted on power lines in a residential area of the northeastern Japan city of Sendai on April 14, 2016, after escaping from nearby Yagiyama Zoological Park. Photo: Kyodo

Seconds later however Chacha lost his grip and fell, live footage on TBS showed.

Chacha bounced off a lower cable before plummeting headfirst towards the ground where waiting rescuers tried to break the fall with a plastic sheet.

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