Florida

Smooth criminal: Michael Jackson's elephant escapes enclosure at Florida zoo

Ali, a bull elephant that used to live at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch, briefly escaped his enclosure at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens Sunday. Photo courtesy Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens (via Facebook)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - An elephant that once lived at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch briefly escaped its enclosure at a Florida zoo.

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens posted on Facebook that Ali the bull elephant wandered through a gate that was accidentally left open Sunday and wound up in a courtyard.

The zoo said guests weren't endangered and safety protocols were quickly put into place.

Zoo staff used food to entice the elephant back into the enclosure. Ali was loose for about 20 minutes.

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Ali's escape was brief, but the zoo's Facebook followers immediately found humor in the situation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Posted by Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens on Sunday, June 17, 2018