Dallas Zoo shuts down after clouded leopard goes missing
Misty Severi
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The Dallas Zoo shut down Friday after employees at the clouded leopard habitat realized one of the cats had escaped the enclosure, zoo officials said.
The small leopard, a female cat named Nova who weighs 25 pounds, is believed to still be in the park and is likely hiding in a tree, Harrison Edell, executive vice president of animal care and conservation at the zoo, told the Associated Press.
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The Dallas Police Department has joined the search. The cat is not considered a threat to humans.
“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. “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.”
https://twitter.com/DallasZoo/status/1613934252969660435
It is not clear how Nova escaped her enclosure, but another clouded leopard, Nova’s sister, remained in the habitat, according to Edell.
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 does 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.
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Officials warned people not to approach Nova if they think they see her. Instead, they should take a picture and send it to the zoo’s Twitter page.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the zoo for comment.