The Dallas Zoo was closed Friday so that its teams, assisted by police and their drones, could try to find a clouded leopard that escaped from its enclosure.
“If you come across a cat larger than a house cat but smaller than a bobcat, we would very much like you to let us know,” said Harrison Edell, an official at this Texas zoo. “We are takers of any tip.”
The fugitive, 4 years old and weighing between 9 and 11 kilos, “does not represent any threat to humans,” he insisted.
“If she’s scared, she’ll most likely climb a tree, stay away from us, chase some squirrels and birds, and hope they don’t notice her.”
Infrared vision drones mobilized
Zoo workers discovered that Nova had run off when they noticed, while inspecting the enclosure she shares with her sister Luna, a breach in the fence.
“It probably went straight up into the trees and didn’t come back down, so we spent a lot of time hooked on our binoculars,” Harrison Edell said. “We don’t think it will go very far.”
According to the official, Dallas police are assisting in the search and using infrared vision drones to scan the treetops.
Faced with an unexpected encounter, it is important not to try to catch it, he warns.
“It still has a full set of claws and fangs. It’s not a house cat, it’s still a wild animal.”
Source: BFM TV
