A worker at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden lost part of his thumb after a bonobo at a primate enclosure chomped down on the digit during feeding time.
The unnamed zoo worker was making routine morning rounds in the Jungle Trails habitant on Friday administering food and medicine when the animal bit him through a mesh barrier, resulting in a “partial amputation” the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The employee was listed in stable condition after the mishap.
“The Cincinnati Zoo prioritizes the safety of its employees and animals,” the zoo said in a statement.
“Bonobos are highly intelligent and social primates, and interactions with them involve established protocols and safety procedures,” it said. “At no time were the bonobos outside their habitat and per zoo policy, animal care staff and great apes do not occupy shared spaces.”
Bonobos are found largely in the Republic of Congo, and are very closely related to chimpanzees — except they tend to be smaller, leaner and darker in color, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Zoo officials said they are reviewing details of the incident to try to decipher what prompted the animal to take a bit out of one of their employees.
The incident comes on the heels of a baby bonobo born at the Cincinnati attraction.
An 18-year-old bonobo named Gilda gave birth on Sept. 8, Fox affiliate WXIX-TV reported then — and noted that two other bonobos from the Memphis Zoo had recently been added to the habitat.
It is not immediately clear if any of those animals were involved in Friday’s incident.
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