Ukrainian citizens were treated to some much-needed comedic relief on Monday when volunteers helped an escaped chimpanzee don a yellow raincoat and rode it back to its abode on a bicycle.
The pesky primate named Chichi was seen wandering the streets of Kharkov in northeastern Ukraine after escaping from the city’s zoo, Feldman Ecopark.
He tore through the city center, which has endured some of the most brutal bombing raids by Russian forces of the war to date, before being tracked down by zoo workers.
Bystanders feared workers would struggle to round up the powerful animal, but the potentially dangerous situation was quickly defused when a woman sat down next to Chichi and took off her bright yellow raincoat.
The zoo worker draped the coat around the chimpanzee’s shoulders and helped him maneuver his arms gently into the sleeves, as if preparing a child for the school run when it started to rain.
Moments later, she helped the chimpanzee climb onto a bicycle, which the workers rode back through the streets to the delight of passers-by before Chichi returned to his enclosure.
Zoo director Oleksiy Grigoriev said the animal was returned safely.
The pesky primate named Chichi was seen walking the streets of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine
The zoo worker draped the coat around the chimpanzee’s shoulders and helped him gently maneuver his arms into the sleeves
The worker hugged the animal before some colleagues came with a bicycle to take him back to the Feldman ecopark
The chimpanzee clambered onto a bicycle that workers rode back through the streets to the delight of passers-by and took the animal safely to the zoo
A wrecked car is pictured in front of a damaged residential building, in Saltivka, one of the most damaged residential areas, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine on September 6.
As Ukraine’s second-largest city and an important military and administrative center, Kharkiv has been the target of relentless airstrikes, rocket attacks and artillery shelling since Russian troops crossed the border on February 24.
The Ukrainian army has managed to keep the city under control and push Russian troops back to Donetsk, but Kharkiv’s proximity to the Russian border means it continues to face regular air strikes.
Earlier in the war, Feldman Ecopark was directly hit in a Russian rocket attack that killed more than 100 animals and six volunteers trying to evacuate the property, owner Oleksandr Feldman said.
The zoo is now operational again and takes care of the day-to-day care of the animals that reside there – although the attraction will remain closed to the public as attacks on the city center continue.
Feldman said that although the animals have been returned to the zoo, shelling has damaged their enclosures and they are no longer safe.
A local resident walks past a street market devastated by military attacks as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Saltivka, one of the most damaged residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 6, 2022
‘Refugees in Ukraine are not only people, but also animals. They also suffer from the stress of the war, they are also sad at home and dream of returning,” said Oleksandr Feldman, owner of the Feldman ecopark.
A local resident walks past a street market devastated by military attacks as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in Saltivka, one of the most damaged residential areas of Kharkiv, Ukraine, September 6, 2022
In a series of recent Facebook posts, Feldman discussed the effect of the war on the health of the animals in the care of his staff.
‘Animals suffer no less from war than people… The recipe for the rehabilitation of war animals is quite simple: it is love and care. And a peaceful sky over your head.
‘Refugees in Ukraine are not only people, but also animals. They too suffer from war stress, are also sad at home and dream of returning.
‘Just like us, they need warmth, love and care. I feel this all the time and try to walk our animals as often as possible.’