Rick Swope was visiting the Detroit Zoo with his wife and three children, when he noticed something odd in the chimpanzee enclosure. Two of the apes were fighting, and one of them, named Jo-Jo, fell into the moat. While it might not seem like a big deal, chimpanzees actually can't swim and Jo-Jo was drowning. "Everyone just stood and watched as the monkey was drowning," Rick explained. He couldn't stand to watch, and as the zoo staff shouted at him to stop, he leapt into the water to help the drowning chimp. Watch the rescue video below to see him in action:
Rick struggled to get the chimp out of the water as it kept slipping from his grip. "The water was so dirty, so I could not see anything. I dived down and swam to the bottom. In the end, I saw him," describes Rick. Finally, he succeeds at getting the ape onto the land where they could both catch their breath. A true animal hero!
Source:
