Zookeepers in many places hold drills to practice catching an escaped animal, but zoos in Japan have elevated such drills to public relations events, with a zookeeper wearing an animal costume playing the escapee. The Tama Zoo had a drill featuring a zebra in 2013, but the last time the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo held a drill using a zebra was in 2008, so it was time to do it again. In this year’s drill, one zookeeper had a "heart attack," while another was "injured" by the zebra.
“The zebra is an animal that easily panics,” said Yumi Tamura, 27, who dressed as the zebra but usually cares for gorillas and monkeys.
“I myself felt panicky when acting it out,” she told reporters.
See a lot more pictures of the drill at Buzzfeed and hit the continue button for a video.
A good time was had by all.