Student rescued from Adelaide Zoo panda enclosure after dropping phone

Adelaide Zoo will assess whether or not safety at its panda enclosure “is suitable” after a teenage boy jumped an electrified wire to get inside. This is why he did it.

A full review will be undertaken of Adelaide Zoo’s panda enclosure after a teenager breached the fence to retrieve their mobile phone.

The high school student was rescued from the enclosure after jumping an electrified wire in an attempt to recover the phone.

Adelaide Zoo staff were forced to lock down the panda enclosure – home to Wang Wang and Fu Ni – around midday on Monday, after the teenage boy breached the fence.

Zoos SA CEO Elaine Bensted said a secondary student was filming the giant pandas when he dropped his mobile phone and made the “unwise decision” to enter the enclosure. She said the review of the enclosure will determine if anything different needs to be added to ensure safety.

It is the first incident of its kind since the enclosure opened in 2009.

Adelaide Zoo’s giant panda Wang Wang.

Ms Bensted said Wang Wang, one of the zoo’s two breeding giant pandas, was not visible at any time during the incident and the student was rescued unharmed.

“I think Wang Wang slept through the entire time, but my staff certainly didn’t,” Ms Bensted said.

“Staff were able to switch off the hot wires that we protect the animal area with and use a ladder to retrieve the student.

“(The student) did report some tingling in his fingers because he did touch the hot wire, but we’re pleased to say it appears nothing more than that.”

Ms Bensted said the teenager, who was part of a large group of secondary students visiting the zoo, would be taken for a medical check-up.

The enclosure has since been reopened to the public.

Witness Nicola Williamson, who was visiting the zoo with her family at the time of the incident, told 7NEWS dozens of keepers took action after the student jumped the fence.

The panda enclosure at Adelaide Zoo. Picture: Supplied

“There was probably about 40 to 50 keepers running into the enclosure to rescue this boy,” she said.

“He looked a bit shocked, like ‘I don’t think I should be in here right now.”

By their nature, giant pandas are not considered to be aggressive.

Lucas Robinson, of Elizabeth, who was visiting the zoo on Monday and said the student should have alerted zoo staff instead of entering the enclosure.

“It’s a bit scary and surprising that a kid would think to even jump over and do that,” he said.

“I guess kids do what kids do, thank god it wasn’t a Harambe 2.0 or something like that.”

Ms Bensted said Adelaide Zoo would review its safety protocols after the incident.

“We’re very pleased that the incident passed without any impact on either the student or the pandas,” she said.

“But we’ll do a full debrief and make that assessment as to whether or not what we’ve got in place is suitable.”

Last Friday, Zoos SA confirmed Fu Ni had been exhibiting certain behaviours in line with pregnancy following a recent artificial insemination attempt, but that “did not mean she was pregnant”.

Keepers said they would not know whether the zoo would welcome its first panda cub until early to mid-2023.

Originally published as Student rescued from Adelaide Zoo panda enclosure after dropping phone