A zoo in Krefeld, Germany, was destroyed by a massive fire on early Wednesday, which killed over 30 animals, which includes apes, monkeys, and bats.
At 12:40 pm on Jan. 1, 2020, the Krefeld police and fire department were informed to respond to a burning building at the Krefeld Zoo.
When the authorities arrived, the fire department found that the Great Ape House of the Krefeld Zoo was on fire.
Responding authorities were unable to enter the building as the fire was too strong.
In a tweet that was made by the Krefeld City, the authorities said there were no surviving animals in the monkey house.
Authorities did confirm that the gorilla garden has been spared.
Over 30 animals were killed by the devastating fire.
The zoo confirmed that monkeys, bats, birds, and apes were killed by the fire.
Bally and Limbo, 2 chimpanzees, were slightly injured by the raging fire.
The 2 chimpanzees sustained minor injuries from the fires, and they are currently being cared for by veterinarians.
Kidogo, a gorilla, also survived and is doing well.
The Krefeld Zoo released a statement about the fire, where they said, “We would like to thank you on this way for the overwhelming wave of compassion and assistance that reach us on all channels.”
The statement added, “We also thank you for the solidarity in social networks. We read everything, but we can’t manage to respond to it yet.”
Authorities have launched an investigation for the fire, and are trying to find out what initiated the fire in the zoo.
As of now, the monkey house of the zoo is at the risk of collapsing and that it had been cordoned off by the fire experts and the police.
The Great Ape House Zoo Krefeld is 2000 square meters big and was built in 1975 as a tropical house.
The house is home to free-roaming birds, flying foxes, and apes.