DALLAS (AP) – Police investigating after a clouded leopard escaped her enclosure at the Dallas Zoo said a cutting tool was used to make an opening in the fence of the small cat’s habitat, and a similar cut was found at a habitat for small monkeys.
Dallas police said on Saturday evening that they did not know if the two incidents were related. None of the langur monkeys escaped and none appeared to be harmed.
On Friday, arriving zoo workers discovered that a clouded leopard named Nova was missing from her habitat. A daylong search ensued, during which the zoo was closed while staff and police combed the 100-acre grounds. She was discovered by late afternoon near her habitat.
After it was determined that Nova wasn’t injured, the zoo said that she spent Saturday with her sister, Luna, in their habitat, “perched up on a high branch while oh-so-many guests stopped by to wish her well”.
Police and zoo officials have said they have reviewed surveillance footage but would not say what it showed or whether there were potential suspects.
Animals have escaped enclosures from the Dallas Zoo before. Most notably was in 2004, when a 154-kilogramme gorilla named Jabari jumped over a wall and went on a 40-minute rampage that injured three people before police shot and killed the animal.
