Baboons Barrel Out of a Biomedical Base – Real Life Donkey Kong?

Four baboons caused a Texas testing lab's "animal perimeter breach" by rolling and stacking large barrels then climbing out. Super Mario and Luigi then sprang into action in a scene right out of Donkey Kong.

The Washington Post says the Texas Biomedical Research Institute went bananas when four baboons --in a scenario straight out of the movies-- worked together to get a brief taste of freedom.

The whole thing went down when the baboons that were penned in an open-air corral got the bright idea to use 55 gallon barrels kept inside the pen to aid their escape. The baboons figured out that if they rolled the barrels to an upright position near the fence and climbed on top of them, they could get out. So, you know, they did.

Once the first baboon successfully made the leap to freedom, one of the lab officials said it became "a typical monkey see, monkey do situation" with three others following suit. The baboons ran across a nearby street, but they were spotted and the facility's animal capture team took off in hot pursuit. It's all fun and games until the animal uprisings begin.

One of the baboons was apprehended when the capture team was seen, according to a witness, "clapping at the bushes and then this brown big mass pops out of the bushes ... okay that's a big dog!"

All of the baboons were captured within 20 to 30 minutes of leaving the enclosure. Veterinary staff attended to the animals and say they all are "doing well," The baboons were not used in any infectious disease research. The research facility said the enclosure had been used for more than 35 years without an escape. The barrels have been removed from the enclosure and will likely be replaced with smaller barrels.