Although jumping into a zoo enclosure might be exceedingly perilous, it saved a life in this case. Rick Swope, a truck driver, had no idea that his trip to the Detroit Zoo would be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Rick was accompanied by his wife and three children. When the family was viewing the chimp exhibit, a fight broke out between two male chimpanzees. It was when Rick performed something that no one else could!
As a result, one of the two animals, Jo-Jo, fell into a deep ditch by mistake. Because chimps cannot swim, the male’s life was in grave danger. Rick went in and grabbed the 135-pound animal without even considering his own safety. “This monkey had his hands up and his head protruding out of the water,” Rick recalled. He was staring out into the throng. He acted as though he needed someone to save him.”
While the other visitors celebrated, the zoo keepers couldn’t believe their eyes and told him to get out as soon as possible. Swope remembered, “People were showing me which way he was going in.” “You couldn’t see through the water because it was so filthy.” On the bottom, I swam about. “I finally tracked him down.”
Our hero just dragged the chimp to the beach and carried him over a chain meant to prohibit chimps from falling into the ocean. “He looked dead, yet you could see he was still alive.” He was staring right at me. “I believe he was aware of what was going on,” Rick stated. Fortunately, the monkey recognizes Rick as a lifesaver and never tries to hurt him. Rick explained why he opted to save the chimp’s life when asked why he did so:
“You know, I happened to glance into his eyes, and it was as if I was staring into the eyes of a guy, and the message was, ‘Won’t somebody assist me?’
In the video below, you can see this spectacular rescue!