The Associated Press
Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2001; 5:33 p.m. EDT

NEW YORK –– Saying he wanted to be "at one with the monkeys," a man stripped down to his boxer shorts, scaled a high fence and jumped into the Bronx Zoo's gorilla exhibit Wednesday, police said.

A quick-thinking zoo employee was able to herd the gorillas into their feeding cages before the man, identified as 32-year-old Peter Vetique, could come near them.

"There was no physical contact between the two species," said Sgt. Andrew McInnis, a police spokesman.

The incident happened shortly after 11 a.m. at the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit, one of the zoo's most popular attractions. In front of several zoo visitors, Vetique took off his clothes and, wearing only his boxers, climbed the 20-foot wall, McInnis said. A zoo employee opened the feeding cages to lure the gorillas inside.

After about 15 minutes, police arrested Vetique. As he was being led away, police asked him why he did it.

"I want to be at one with the monkeys," Vetique told them, according to McInnis.

Vetique was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

The 6.5-acre exhibit was opened in 1999 and is home to the largest group of lowland gorillas in the United States.