As far a wild animal escapes go, this one was mild–mannered and low key…. and very British.

A new report’s detailed how a London Zoo silverback gorilla got out of his enclosure through two unlocked doors and helped himself to five litres of undiluted blackcurrent squash, before being tranquillised and returned to his den.

The zoo was put on lockdown last Thursday evening after an opportunistic Kumbuka got out through an unsecured den door. A second security door had also been left unlocked.

The moment the escape was discovered was caught on camera by zoo visitor Jonathan Mall, who posted his footage to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOwNyg-yQC0

In an eye–witness account of the incident, he said zoo staff handled the whole thing very professionally – and, while he was an idiot to walk towards the enclosure, there was never any real danger.

Zoo Director, Professor David Field, says an investigation has found the gorilla dens are sound and fit for purpose.

“I can certainly tell you that there were no broken locks, Kumbuka did not smash any windows, he was never ‘on the loose’, and his normal gorilla posturing reported by visitors earlier in the day was unrelated to the incident,” he said in his report.

The 184 western lowland silverback, an “alpha male” was kept calm by his keeper, as he removed himself from the area.

That’s when Kumbuka had a bit of an explore and tucked into the keepers’ supply of sugary berry–goodness.

“The incident itself was less dramatic than some would have you believe,’ said Professor Field.

The gorilla escaped from London Zoo enclosure & instead of rampaging, he drank 5 litres of blackcurrant squash. This is so British #Kumbuka

— Katie Kate UK (@CUFFLINKK8) October 20, 2016

The gorilla was always contained in a non–public area of the zoo.