The clouded leopard that shut down the Dallas Zoo on Friday was located near her habitat that afternoon, and an investigation into the matter was initiated by law enforcement, zoo officials announced.
The small leopard, a 25-pound female named Nova, appears healthy but was still being looked over by the zoo’s veterinary staff Friday evening, a zoo spokesperson told the Washington Examiner.
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“We are thrilled to report we located clouded leopard Nova on-grounds at the zoo this afternoon at approximately 4:40 p.m. She was located very near the original habitat, and teams were able to safely secure her just before 5:15 p.m.,” the spokesperson said. “Initial indications are she is not injured. She is being evaluated by our veterinary staff right now. We’ll provide further updates on her status tomorrow.”
The release appeared to be a deliberate act by an unknown person, according to zoo officials, who called in the Dallas Police Department to help with the search.
“We found a suspicious opening in the habitat wall at the front of the exhibit,” Gregg Hudson, president and CEO of the Dallas Zoo, said at a press conference. “It was clear that this opening was not habitat failure, it wasn’t exhibit failure, and it wasn’t keeper error.”
Dallas police opened a criminal investigation into Nova’s release after discovering that the wires on the gate were intentionally cut, a police official said during the press conference.
The zoo announced its closure through social media Friday morning, outlining that an animal that was not a danger to humans had escaped its enclosure. Zoo employees noticed Nova was missing after doing their daily morning head count of all the animals.
“We have an ongoing situation at the Zoo right now with a Code Blue — that is a non-dangerous animal that is out of its habitat. One of our clouded leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is unaccounted for at this time,” the zoo said in a series of tweets Friday before the animal was found. “The Zoo is closed today as our teams work to find and recover the animal. Given the nature of these animals, we believe the animal is still on grounds and hiding. … Our focus right now is on locating the animal.”
We have an ongoing situation at the Zoo right now with a Code Blue – that is a non-dangerous animal that is out of its habitat. One of our clouded leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is unaccounted for at this time.
— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 13, 2023
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The zoo described clouded leopards as “larger than a house cat but smaller than most bobcats.” It said the creature’s natural habitat is a dense forest.
Nova did not pose a greater threat to dogs than other wild creatures in Texas, but a clouded leopard’s prey is usually small to medium animals.
