Chichi the Runaway Chimp is Returned to a Ukrainian Zoo Wearing a Rain Jacket and Riding a Bicycle

If you ever grew up reading the Curious George books, you've certainly dreamed of having your own pet chimp that wears a cute yellow jacket. Well, this has never been closer to being possible if you were a resident of one city in the Ukraine last week. 

Chichi, a full grown chimpanzee who lives at the Kharviv Zoo in the Ukraine, escaped from his enclosure and was seen wandering the streets nearby for hours. Brave onlookers watched (and filmed) as Chichi wandered around, looking for some sort of comfort or familiarity amongst his new surroundings. 

As most people know, chimps are one of the most dangerous animals in the world and are responsible for more maulings than large predators like bears and lions. However, while wandering in the rain, the chimp seems to get stressed out by his filming entourage, and takes a seat in the middle of the park, awaiting rescue. 

One woman, a zookeeper, dared to approach Chichi and came to sit with him, calming his nerves and attempting to get him back to the zoo without altercation. Like a bomb diffuser, the zookeeper woman expertly reads the situation and offered Chichi her rain jacket, gaining his trust and helping him warm up in the cold weather. 

She shrugged her own jacket off of her shoulders and put it on the chimp, a loving and warm gesture for the duo. 

And then the chimp did the cutest thing in the world, fulfilling every persons childhood exotic pet fantasy.  He hugged his zookeeper as a thank you. 

I'm not crying, you're crying. 

Docile, warmed, and happy, Chichi was then loaded up onto a bicycle and taken back to the nearby zoo. Because why not? Why can't a chimp wearing a rain coat ride a bicycle through the park on his way back to the zoo? Presumably, the zookeeper team was daunted by carrying home a large primate who weighs several hundreds of pounds and thought that this would be the best mode of transport. They were right.

Nobody knows how Chichi escaped that day, but the entire adventure surprised everyone by being a wholesome and loving occasion. Most people would have expected to see a headline about an escaped chimp ripping off someone's face, but aren't you glad you read a lovely article about a wholesome chimp that ran away from home, got a little spooked, wore a yellow rain jacket, then rode a bicycle home?