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In the late 60s, Fu was known as a sweet, friendly, playful orangutan who loved to interact with other animals and his human keepers. He even helped the keepers at the zoo while they worked with the other orangutans. Suddenly, in 1968, when the keepers arrived at the zoo, they would often find Fu Manchu and four of his enclosure-mates outside of their enclosure. The group never caused trouble or tried to leave the zoo grounds; they just wanted to hang out in other parts of the zoo. The head keeper assumed that one of his staff was being careless and kept leaving a door unlocked. He was prepared to fire whoever was responsible. But then it was discovered that Fu Manchu was using a key he made from a piece of wire. He hid the key in his mouth and used it to unlock the door to a maintenance area, leading to an outdoor escape!!! You’ve got to watch it with names. Fu Manchu is like a fictional Chinese criminal mastermind! For his problem-solving abilities the orangutan was given honorary membership in the American Association of Locksmiths. 😊 He remained a happy, friendly guy who went on to have 20 children and 15 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.