A nine-year-old chimpanzee escaped from Belfast Zoo

Police said officers had consulted with a vet and zoo management before firing the shots near nine-year-old chimp Phoebe.

The zoo had to be closed for about an hour after Phoebe used a log in her enclosure to climb over a wall.

She has since been recaptured and returned to the ape-house unharmed.

A spokesman for the zoo said the log had been removed from the animal's enclosure.

"We want to thank the PSNI who were called as a precautionary measure for their help and thank those visitors in the zoo for their co-operation in remaining indoors while the effort was under way," he said.