Indianapolis Zoo president has hand bitten while feeding chimpanzee

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Zoo confirmed its president and CEO suffered an injury while feeding a chimpanzee last week.

In a statement sent to FOX59/CBS4 Tuesday night, the zoo said President and CEO Rob Shumaker had his finger bitten while feeding a chimpanzee through a mesh barrier. Shumaker received medical attention for the injury and has recovered.

The chimpanzee involved in the incident suffered no “ill-effects,” Jake Oakman, the senior vice president of external relations at the Indianapolis Zoo, said.

The full statement can be read below:

“Indianapolis Zoo President & CEO Dr. Rob Shumaker sustained an injury while feeding a chimpanzee through a mesh barrier last week. The tip of Dr. Shumaker’s finger was bitten, and he received medical attention for the wound. Dr. Shumaker has recovered, and the chimpanzee has no ill-effects. The incident was reported to the zoo’s accrediting body, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and was reported internally to relevant staff and to the zoo’s board chair. Dr. Shumaker is a primatologist who has spent his career researching and interacting with great apes and the incident occurred during a standard feeding interaction.”

The Indianapolis Zoo opened its Penny & Jock Fortune International Chimpanzee Complex in May of last year, becoming one of the largest chimpanzee habitats in the country. At the time, the zoo said the complex featured three indoor and outdoor living spaces and part of a quarter mile of overhead trail.