Ken Allen wasn’t just any zoo escapee. The Bornean orangutan at San Diego Zoo earned the nickname “The Hairy Houdini” after breaking out at least three times in 1985 alone.

He calmly unscrewed bolts, picked locks, slipped out of his enclosure, and then strolled through the zoo. Occasionally, he was joined by female companions and never harmed a single visitor. 

His daring escapes won him a fan club, T-shirts, and bumper stickers that read “Free Ken Allen.” 

Safe, clever, and oddly sociable during his freestyle zoo wanderings, Ken Allen proved that intelligence and curiosity can quietly outwit even the best security.