Gibbon attacks Malaysian boy in brief zoo

Gibbon attacks Malaysian boy in brief zoo

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- An official says a gibbon attacked and seriously injured a three-year-old boy after escaping from an enclosure at a zoo in southern Malaysia.

Malacca Zoo director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed says the male siamang bit Muhammad Afiq Haziq on the right thigh on Tuesday, and that the boy was hospitalized with a severe injury.


The siamang is a black-furred gibbon native to forests in Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra province.

The zoo director says the ape, about 5 to 10 years old, was swiftly recaptured and has been kept under quarantine. He says it's the first such attack at the zoo, and that officials are investigating how it escaped from its enclosure and why it attacked the boy.