58 Years Ago Our Zoo Had A Chimpanzee On The Loose

This really goes back in time when our El Paso Zoo was once known as The Washington Park Zoo. A REALLY long time ago our zoo made El Paso Time's headlines thanks to Oswald the chimpanzee.

Oswald was a 150-pound chimpanzee that was known to be mild-mannered at times. This chimpanzee sure did cause quite the ruckus at the zoo when he got loose. Oswald managed to release birds and animals out of their cages. Because of Oswald's behavior, it led a bobcat to a cage with two foxes that left the bobcat injured. When all this happened there were about 20 visitors that had to be secured in a safe location out of harm's way. This incident occurred on June 22, 1959, when our El Paso Zoo used to be The Washington Park Zoo. Later on, Oswald was sold to the Osario Bros. circus at the end of November. Sadly, 6 years later Oswald made headlines again and not for what you're thinking. He was found dead about 30 miles south of Juarez on December 8, 1965.

This is an interesting story you can ask your relatives about this incident that took place many years ago!