Sami was born at the Osijek Zoo in what is now Croatia in 1979. In January of 1988, he was taken to the Belgrade Zoo and lodged in a much smaller chimpanzee enclosure that was like a cage. Sami did not like his new surroundings, and escaped as soon as he could, in February of 1988. Twice. The first time, zoo director Vuk Bojović talked him into returning to his new home. But Sami made another attempt, and this time he wasn't going to surrender so easily.
Meanwhile, Sami's escapes made the news and he became a sensation in Yugoslavia. Remember, this was in 1988, as there was growing unrest in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc nations, illustrated by the shipyard strikes in Gdańsk, Poland, and protests against the Berlin Wall in East and West Germany. Sami became a symbol of the urge to escape from repression, and was safer to talk about because he was a real news story, but he wasn't human. Sami's quest for freedom is commemorated in the statue you see above, installed at the Belgrade Zoo, now in Serbia. Read Sami's story and see pictures of his rooftop negotiations with Bojović during both escapes, at Rare Historical Photos. -via Nag on the Lake
(Image credit: Iricigor)
