Fire in Wellington Zoo chimp enclosure

A small fire in Wellington Zoo's chimpanzee enclosure today was put out with no injuries to the animals, the zoo says.

Smoke was seen coming from the heated chimp cave shelter in the outdoor section of the enclosure about midday.

The Fire Service extinguished the fire in under a minute, the zoo said in a statement on its website.

The fire was suspected to have started from an electrical fault in one of the shelter's heating pads, but a full investigation would take place to identify the cause.

The chimpanzees were now "calmly relaxing inside for the afternoon", the zoo said.

- NZPA