An employee of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle was hospitalized over the weekend after being bitten on the hand by an orangutan during a routine training session.

The worker, whose identity hasn’t been disclosed by the zoo, was bitten Saturday through a mesh barrier that separates the four orangutans kept at the zoo from staff, officials said in a Facebook post Sunday.

The zoo described the injury as serious but non-life-threatening.

Woodland Senior Director of Animal Care Luis Neves said in the post, “Training encourages the animals to voluntarily participate in their own care by helping them become more comfortable with daily husbandry and medical procedures. Training sessions also foster strong bonds that build trust between the animals and their keepers, and it is always a voluntary and enriching part of their daily care.”

The orangutan, meanwhile, was found to be safe and behaving appropriately by the zoo’s veterinarian. The zoo is looking into how and why the incident happened and whether any changes need to be made to improve the barrier separating the apes from the zookeepers.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.