A worker participating in an “aerial rescue drill” at the North Carolina Zoo died last week in a fall. News reports say 38-year-old Branson Joe Langley was killed when he fell 20-30 feet from a tree. The drill involved two arborists – one playing the role of a person trapped in a tree and the other performing a rescue.
The Africa section of the zoo was immediately closed to the public following the incident, and the entire park closed by 2 p.m. The zoo was open for its normal hours on Friday.