Seven chimpanzees escaped the Kansas City Zoo on Thursday, using a 1.8m branch as a makeshift ladder to climb out of their enclosure.

One chimp broke the branch off a tree in their enclosure and convinced six others to join him in his bid for freedom.

However, the apes did not manage to get far as zookeepers quickly blocked the zoo exits with vehicles and lured the animals back into their holding building with treats.

No animals or people were injured during the 90-minute incident, described as a “code red situation” by zoo staff.