Annals Of Bad PR Decisions–Going Ape: So you are Andy Henderson, the director of primates at the Lincoln Park zoo in Chicago. The zoo has just completed construction of a $25 million “escape proof” ape exhibit. The jewel in the crown is a 12,000 square foot ape yard, surrounded by a 12-foot high overhanging moat that has a 300-foot wide wall. The whole shebang opens in a few weeks, and you want to show it off. So what do you do? You invite Jeremy Bloomfield, the director of two Chicago climbing gyms, and a few of his rock-jock buddies in to see if they can escape your maximum security ape prison. Great idea, Andy. Except–according to Outside Online–the first of the climbers scampered up the “unclimbable” moat and escaped after just, get this, ten minutes. Bloomfield and his team–using no ropes or climbing equipment of any kind–then proceeded to dismantle the impregnable facility, locating at least 6 possible escape routes within an hour. Then, just for fun–as construction workers wet themselves laughing and the zoo directors wet themselves in embarrassment–the team hung around for some good climbing practice, scaling the walls repeatedly. “This is gonna set them back a little bit, I think,” said one of the climbers, who have been invited back in June, after some, err, remodeling. Maybe Andy should start looking for a job at one of Bloomfield’s climbing gyms…



“This place is f*cking great. I’ve been hitting Lincoln Park bars and peeking into bedrooms every night since I got here…”