--- description: As the central area of the National Zoo in Washington D.C. was evacuated, zoo-goers took to Twitter to announce that an ape had escaped. title: No Missing Ape In D.C. Zoo, Despite Reports image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c59df3781d4b37a/69869ee4d0b6f2125f3059ed/479740139.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Bomb Threat False Alarm at National Zoo Triggers Ape Escape Rumors  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 8, 2014 7:17 PM CUT  A young Lowland Gorilla eats bamboo in his enclosure March 20, 2014 at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C. A young Lowland Gorilla eats bamboo in his enclosure March 20, 2014 at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.Karen Bleier—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 8, 2014 7:17 PM CUT As a main area of Washington, D.C.’s National Zoo was evacuated Friday, zoo-goers took to Twitter to announce that they were being evacuated because an ape had escaped — though that turned out not to be the case. > [](https://twitter.com/thegoodcarmah/status/497812704594509827) > [](https://twitter.com/JanaBatt/status/497808382083235840) > [](https://twitter.com/michaelroston/status/497812563602964481) But, in the end, all of the mammals were in their pens. The Zoo had evacuated the area in response to a bomb threat in “an abundance of caution,” according to a spokesperson. The area was cleared by police, and no bombs were found. The whole incident, though reminds us of [this time](http://nation.time.com/2013/06/24/missing-red-panda-from-national-zoo-found-in-d-c/ "undefined") a panda escaped from the zoo: > [](https://twitter.com/NationalZoo/status/349193044777656320) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3093707/ape-missing-zoo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3093707/ape-missing-zoo/"},"headline":"Bomb Threat False Alarm at National Zoo Triggers Ape Escape Rumors","datePublished":"2014-08-08T19:17:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:12:18.124Z","description":"Authorities evacuated an area of the zoo in response to a bomb threat","url":"https://time.com/3093707/ape-missing-zoo/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","Zoo","dc"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c59df3781d4b37a/69869ee4d0b6f2125f3059ed/479740139.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c59df3781d4b37a/69869ee4d0b6f2125f3059ed/479740139.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-SPRING-ANIMAL-FEATURE","caption":"US-SPRING-ANIMAL-FEATURE","creditText":"Karen Bleier—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3093707/ape-missing-zoo/","name":"Bomb Threat False Alarm at National Zoo Triggers Ape Escape Rumors"}}]}] ```