For most of us, when we wake up in the morning, we really don’t know what to expect. However, most of us never expect to do something out of the ordinary. In fact, we are likely to do exactly what we had planned for the day, as we’ve done hundreds if not thousands of days before. Most of us go through our daily routines without a second thought. This was the case for many people on one particular day while visiting the Detroit Zoo. Of course, most of us probably don’t go to the Zoo very often, but it’s rare that we do anything extraordinary when we do.
But, for a man named Rick Slope, the day was going pretty much as planned before he walked by the chimpanzee exhibit. Two of the chimps were playing in the exhibit, chasing each other when something unexpected happened. But it turned out that Rick was more than willing to step up to the plate and do the right thing rather than stand by and watch a tragedy unfold.
The chimps were chasing each other around the trees when one slipped on the edge and fell into the water that surrounded the exhibit. The Chimpanzee was really struggling to keep its head above the water. However, the zoo’s staff seemed in no rush to come to the primate’s rescue.
Ricked spoke to a local newspaper about the incident. He told them:
“It was the most pitiful thing I ever saw. This chimp had his hands up and his head was sticking out of the water. He was looking at the crowd. It was like he wanted someone to rescue him.”
When Rick saw that no one was going to take action, he decided that he would.
The zoo customer jumped over the wall right into the water. It was nearly impossible to locate the chimpanzee because the water was so murky.
He further explained what happened:
“People were showing me which direction he was in. The water was so dirty you couldn’t see through it. I swam around on the bottom. Finally, I found him…
He was pretty lifeless, but you could see he was still alive. He was looking at me. I think he knew what was going on… The monkey never made any attempt to do anything to me.
Then I looked up and saw there was another one coming down the hill with his teeth bared. I didn’t know if he was going after the other monkey or after me, but I got the hell out of there.”
As Rick left the enclosure, people surrounded the hero to congratulate him. But the fact was that Rick didn’t do it for the glory or attention. He just didn’t want to see an innocent animal die right in front of him.
Here’s a video of Rick’s courageous rescue.
What did you think about Rick’s story? Let us know in the comments section, and please be sure to share it with your friends and family.
