A dog had a scary experience at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Sunday after falling into an enclosure with a silverback gorilla.
Footage of the incident showed what happened after the dog fell in, with two of the great apes chasing the good boy around their enclosure.
Onlookers attempted to help the dog calling out to it as he outran the silverbacks. One of the videos was posted to TikTok, and in it, you can hear a woman yelling, "Oh, no no no no."
Thankfully the zoo was able to get the gorillas to leave the dog alone long enough for the animal to be retrieved, who was most likely just looking to play.
The park issued a statement on the incident sharing that they work with the gorillas for emergency situations like this one.
"Wildlife care specialists successfully recalled the two gorillas out of the habitat so the dog could be removed. Recall training is a part of the regular safety procedures at the park," the zoo's statement sent to ABC 10News said.
The situation could have been much worse with Gorillas being naturally aggressive animals, sometimes weighing up to 400lbs in captivity.
In the last 10 years alone, there have been several high-profile encounters with gorillas, most famously at the Cincinnati Zoo, when a child fell into the gorilla Harambe's enclosure, and zoo officials were forced to kill the animal.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park officials are still unsure how the dog was able to get into the enclosure, but they do know it was one of two domestic dogs without an owner roaming the zoo.
The San Diego Humane Society eventually removed the dog from the enclosure, and in a statement, the agency shared how quickly the zoo was to act.
"As soon as zoo staff saw the dog, they moved the gorillas out," the statement said. "Our three Humane Officers were able to move in and safely leash the shepherd and bring him back to San Diego Humane Society's Escondido Campus for evaluation."
The human society shared that the dog, a male shepherd, did not have a microchip and has been placed on stray hold as they search for his owner.
"Animal caregivers have given the dog a shelter name of 'Might Joe Young.' We are so glad no one was hurt," the shelter said.
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