Random Details About Ken Allen Is An Orangutan Infamous For His Daring Escapes (15 items)

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  (#2) He Used Tools (And Guile) To Get Out Of His Cage

  Most of these escapes involved him carefully climbing out, despite electrical fencing, but he sometimes got more creative. Ken would use tools and even accomplices. When he did escape, he would sometimes just wait to be put back in, almost as if he just enjoyed the act of the escape
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  (#8) The Zoo Spent Thousands Of Dollars To Keep Him Enclosed

  With Ken Allen's continued proclivity for escapes, the San Diego Zoo realized they had to make special efforts to keep him behind bars. In addition to building extensive, costly modifications to his enclosures, they also ramped up security. Unfortunately, by this time Ken Allen could recognize zookeepers by their uniforms, and would time his escapes when they were not around. The workers resorted to wearing tourist disguises to thwart his attempts. 

  In the end, the zoo spent a total of $45,000 on security measures for Ken Allen alone. And even then, he still made escape attempts for most of his life.
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  (#13) He Was Never Violent Towards People

  When you think of a zoo escape, you probably think of it as being inherently dangerous, but this was not the case for Ken Allen's breakouts. Whenever he escaped, he was never harmful towards the zoo's visitors, and actually seemed to like their company. He would pose for photos during his strolls, and would stand with them as if he was human. When his keepers came to retrieve him, he would be amiable about the whole situation. The only times he seemed aggressive were in situations with other orangutans, and that was incredibly rare.

  He only ran from his keepers once. In that situation, he was in an area he had never been before and zookeepers said his actions were from nervousness, not aggression. Hilariously enough, while he ran, a nearby crowd cheered for him.
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  (#5) The Zoo Hired Professional Climbers To Try And Figure Out How He Was Escaping

  Eventually the zoo had to hire professional rock climbers to inspect the enclosure. They were instructed to find every single finger and toe hold possible, but even after that, Ken Allen still managed to find his way out. The zoo built moats, added four feet onto the walls, but those efforts weren't enough. When he had to, Ken Allen would find things like squeegees or other tools in order to help him get up the walls, proving he was just as unstoppable as the real Spiderman.
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  (#10) He Enlisted Other Orangutans For Help

  When he found escaping was too difficult to do alone, Ken Allen wasn't above getting some accomplices. One time Ken got ahold of a crowbar, and then tossed it to another orangutan near him who used it to pry open a window and let him out. The pen was repaired and security was beefed up, but this was not the last time he got help.

  Zookeepers tried to distract him from escaping by putting females in his enclosure, but they were just giving him better opportunities. He began teaching them how to escape, and after only a few months together, he managed to get two of the females to successfully help him escape. The two new accomplices, Jane and Kumang, followed him out of the exhibit and went for a stroll. Once all three had been captured, the zookeepers gave up the hope of using females to distract him.
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  (#12) He Inspired A Hit Song

  As news of the crafty orangutan spread, Ken Allen became something of a sensation. One person who took notice was San Diego psychiatrist Dennis Gersten. In 1985, he heard about the orangutan, wrote down a song about him in the span of about 10 minutes, and then went to a studio to record it. He named it the "Ballad of Ken Allen," and the jingle took off. It spoke of Ken's escapes, his life, and even his spiritual quest for freedom, and people in Southern California absolutely loved it. For several years, the single of was sold at the zoo, and the song was performed live on TV by Gersten himself. While it might sound rather dated now, you can still find the tune on YouTube.

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