Emily Chan
In the history of the San Diego Zoo, there was no animal more famous than Ken Allen, a 250-pound Borean orangutan. He became known as “Hairy Houdini” for his multiple escape attempts from his enclosure.
Ken was born at the zoo in 1971. It is said that he was given the name of Ken because a Wall Street brokerage called Alex Brown & Company gave the zoo a sizable donation, and in return, they requested that the ugliest orangutan at the zoo be named after one of the equity traders at the firm.
Other sources state that he was named after the zookeeper Ken Willingham and the zoo’s security officer, Ben Allen.
Even at a young age, it was clear that Ken had a knack for being an escape artist. In the zoo’s nursery, he learned to escape his crib by removing the bolts.
His first escape from his exhibit took place on June 13, 1985. Before being led back to his cage, he simply wandered around the zoo, looking at all the other animals as if he were a visitor. That was when the orangutan rose to fame.
After his first escape, zoo officials increased security measures around his pen, which consisted of an open area with a jungle gym and a large moat located near the back. A massive wall stood behind the moat, and four more feet were added to it. Still, it wasn’t enough to prevent Ken from getting free again.
In July, he climbed the wall again and was found in the enclosure of a Sumatran orangutan named Otis, throwing rocks at him. In August, he broke out a third time. Some zoo workers had left behind a crowbar in his pen, so he gave it to another orangutan, Vicki, who was able to pry open a window and let Ken out.
After that incident, he was transferred to an indoor pen with a black-and-white television that had one working channel while zookeepers worked on securing his exhibit.
Ken became such a celebrity that the zoo began selling shirts with his face printed on the front. He even had a fan club called the Orang Gang. Meanwhile, the zookeepers struggled to keep Ken contained.
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