PANIC spread through a Paris zoo today after 52 baboons escaped from their enclosures, with police warning locals not to approach them.

According to The Sun, the zoo was evacuated as police hunted for the missing monkeys in a bid to recapture them before anyone was hurt.

The majority of the baboons have now been recaptured, but four “large and potentially very aggressive baboons” remain on the loose.

Officials advised people not to approach the animals, warning: “They are stronger than us.”

A source at the zoo, which opened in 1934 said: “It’s not known how they got out, but everything is being done to try and get them under control.

“The whole area has been shut down, with only trained professionals involved in the security operation.

“They include three operatives with rifles who will be able to stun the animals if necessary.

“Many police and vets are also in attendance. Baboons are large and potentially very aggressive.”

Baboons are not naturally a danger, but can attack humans and cause serious injuries if they feel they are being threatened.

Some may have escaped into nearby play areas and other recreational facilities, but it is unlikely they have got out of the zoological park itself, which covers about 40 hectares.

The source added: “They are almost certainly all in the park woods, but anybody in the area needs to keep a look out.”

Nearby roads have been closed down, with checkpoints being set up using police patrol cars.

The alarm was raised when an employee bumped into one of the baboons in a corridor, the statement revealed.

Guinea baboons, originated from West Africa, are classified as a “near-threatened” species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Visitors can usually admire them around the zoo’s “Big Rock” that towers over the Bois de Vincennes park, in eastern Paris.

Paris last experienced an animal-on-the-loose alert when a tiger briefly roamed the city after escaping from a circus cage last November. The animal was shot dead.