Locals have described their shock at coming across a chimpanzee outside its enclosure at the Limbe Zoo.

Journalist Tarhyang Enowbikah Tabe quotes an eyewitness as saying that "The Chimpanzee met me in the office premises. I ran for my life and locked myself in the office. Then, he took a U-turn towards AIMS University and down to the car wash area, blocking traffic for some minutes "on Tuesday afternoon.

Sylvia Lum said she was "petrified" the chimp might "attack me or sixteen my baby" around Middle Farms.

But service providers and clients at the car wash said the animal was "aggressive" and "went on an eating and drinking spree at the recreational facility near the car wash" and therefore the experience was both frightening and "amazing".

“As the car wash guys ran for their lives, the chimpanzee located a restaurant in front of the car wash. He took time to open one flask after the other, served food, and ate to his satisfaction. I left the scene when the dreaded chimpanzee was still enjoying Achu and dry meat at the car wash eatery,” Tarhyang quotes an eyewitness as saying.

Olive Ejang Tebug, Fako Divisional Delegate of Communication reports that the chimpanzee scaled the fence of the Limbe Zoo, jumped on the road towards the Limbe City Council. It then skipped from fence to fence towards the Fako Divisional Delegation of Communication in Middle Farms.

“The chimpanzee aroused fear amongst onlookers as it chased anybody who dared come closer. It even attempted to drag a passenger from a motorbike, thanks to the shrewd rider who escaped to the other side of the road,” Ejang wrote in her report for The Advocate.

From the Fako Communication Delegation, the Chimpanzee reportedly made a U-turn towards Crystal Garden to a car wash in the area. The car wash had a mini-restaurant with a regular menu of achu and pepper soup.

Ejang quotes James Fah, a worker at the car wash as saying that immediately the chimpanzee saw flasks of food, it jumped, opened the flasks, and ate achu and dry meat to his satisfaction. Fah said the chimpanzee ate a smaller quantity of the pepper soup, before emptying all the bottles of leftover beer abandoned by those who fled from it. He narrated that the unsatisfied chimpanzee reached the counter and drank almost all the beer there.

The car wash staff told The Advocate that the chimp also ate a bucket of puff-puff at the restaurant, boiled eggs and other candies on sale.

Zookeepers bailed the public to take safety measures. They trailed the chimpanzee and gave it an anesthetic shot after it had eaten lavishly and drunk heavily.

After receiving the shot, the chimpanzee staggered on the balcony of the eatery before falling asleep on the floor.

The Advocate reports that zookeepers paid the restaurant owner for the food and drinks consumed by the chimpanzee before carrying the animal to the zoo.

Traffic was restored and calm returned to Middle Farms immediately after the chimpanzee was taken away.

Mbelle Serge Rim, Conservator of the Limbe Zoo told Ejang that they are doing all to ensure that animals do not scale the fence of the zoo again.

He said the chimp might have loved eating achu because the spices used in preparing achu are the same ingredients used to prepare their food.