Orangutan escapee sleeps it off

The clever orangutan who made a dash for freedom in Melbourne has ended up spending the day in his room.

Malu, an 11-year-old Sumatran orangutan, attempted a great escape on Monday, climbing up netting before making it to the roof of his zoo enclosure.

That's not going to happen again, Melbourne Zoo says.

"A work team are going to have a look at the exhibit ... and look at getting some outside contractors to take a look to see what we can improve, so he doesn't get out again," zoo spokeswoman Ailsa McOscar told AAP.

Malu is a typical little boy who likes breaking things, zoo staff say.

He managed to rip the netting in his enclosure to flee, and he may have even used a tool, Ms McOscar said.

"He's a pretty intelligent little guy. He works out lots of solutions," she said.

The zoo was locked down on Monday while keepers lured Malu back into his enclosure with treats and tranquillised him.

After he took longer than expected to recover from the anaesthetic, the vets decided to keep Malu in his den on Tuesday.

But they say he's doing fine.