Watch: Elephant briefly escapes, roams New Mexico zoo before safe return

Elephant breaks out of enclosure, explores zoo grounds

An Asian elephant named Alice took herself on a leisurely stroll through ABQ BioPark in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after escaping her enclosure on Sunday, March 29. (Credit: ABQ BioPark via Storyful)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - An elephant named Alice briefly escaped her enclosure and wandered Albuquerque’s ABQ BioPark before being safely returned.

What's next:

ABQ BioPark shared footage of 52-year-old Alice ambling through the zoo, stopping to snack on plants and examine her surroundings.

In a press release, the zoo said security spotted Alice outside her main habitat around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

The zoo said no guests were on-site at the time and that opening was delayed by 30 minutes while crews cleared debris from plants and trees Alice had eaten near her habitat.

Staff also identified a "compromised" հատված of perimeter fencing, which has since been repaired and reinforced.

What they're saying:

"Animal care staff were notified and arrived on site within 10 minutes and initiated emergency response protocol," the zoo said. "The staff were able to call Alice safely back to her habitat. No other elephants left the habitat, and no staff were ever in harm’s way. Alice has no injuries but will remain under close monitoring by animal care staff."