A man has been taken into police custody after breaking into Auckland Zoo's rhino enclosure on Wednesday morning.
In a statement to Newshub, a police spokesperson said reports were received of a person "unlawfully" entering the enclosure at about 11:25am.
"They were swiftly removed by zoo staff and have been taken into custody by police".
The spokesperson added no people or animals were injured.
Footage provided to Newshub shows the man dunking himself under the water as members of the public watched on.
Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley said the young man climbed over a barrier and walked through the rhino habitat and towards the moat.
"[He] entered the water where he stayed for a number of minutes before responding to Zoo staff instructions to get out."
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Buley said the rhinos and nyala were "understandably startled by the intruder" and they moved "quickly away" to the other end of the habitat.
"Zookeepers were able to safely hold them whilst the incident was resolved by Zoo staff at the scene."
Once the man was out of the enclosure he was escorted to the entrance of Auckland Zoo and met by police.
Buley said he is "extremely proud" of the zoo staff involved, who acted quickly and "managed to very swiftly, professionally, and safely deal with the incident".
"We hope that the man involved gets the help and support that he very clearly needs," Buley added.
