Chimpanzees Adam and Eve terrify holidaymakers after escaping from zoo in Mallorca

Spanish police have been castigated by animal rights groups for shooting Eve dead, while Adam is still at large

Chimps kissing at Sa Coma's Safari Zoo, pictured in 2008 (Glen Bowman/Flickr/Creative Commons)

The Safari Zoo at Sa Coma has never been described, not even in the tourist brochures, as a Garden of Eden. And two chimpanzees, known as Adam and Eve, certainly did not think much of the Mallorca resort earlier this week when they broke out of their cage and ran loose, terrifying holidaymakers.

Spanish police have been castigated by animal rights groups for shooting Eve dead, while Adam is still at large despite helicopters joining the hunt for the 70kg primate.

Adam and Eve escaped on Monday and caused havoc by attacking other animals, breaking windows and sending tourists running for cover. Eve was killed by rangers not long after the escape, with the civil guard forced to defend the shooting in the nearby town of Son Carrio.

“She was very agitated and there was a risk that she might attack a member of the search party,” a spokesman told the AFP news agency. “It wasn’t possible to use tranquilliser darts because on animals that big it takes about five minutes to have an effect.” That would have given her time to attack the rangers, the civil guard said, adding that it may also be necessary to shoot Adam.

“Depending on the circumstances, we will first try to catch him without hurting him. But if there is no other way, he will have to be killed too,” the spokesman said.

This did not satisfy animal rights groups, which called on authorities to save Adam. Adam “must be scared and wondering what to do”, said a spokesman for Proyecto Gran Simio, a campaign group.

Guillermo Amengual, from the group Animanaturalis, said the cages that Adam and Eve were kept in were woefully inadequate.

“This can cause a lot of stress in primates and not surprisingly lead to cases, like those of Adam and Eve, of chimpanzees trying to escape their cages and adopt aggressive attitudes. Animals in zoos can literally go crazy.”

The hunt for Adam has been concentrated on woods near the Safari Zoo, which is popular with British tourists. The park is home to more than 600 animals including lions, giraffes, tigers, other primates and zebras.