DALLAS — The Dallas Zoo closed Friday after one of its clouded leopards went missing from an enclosure authorities believe was intentionally cut open.
But zoo officials said Friday afternoon that they were still operating under the presumption that the animal was hiding somewhere on zoo grounds.
Dallas Zoo president Gregg Hudson said staff found a “suspicious opening” in the enclosure 4-year-old Nova shares with her sister, Luna, in the morning. Nova was no longer in the habitat.
“It was clear that this opening was not a habitat failure, it was not an exhibit failure and it wasn’t keeper error,” he said.
Sgt. Warren Mitchell, a Dallas police spokesman, confirmed police have opened a criminal investigation into the leopard’s disappearance.
“It is our belief that this was an intentional act,” Mitchell said.
The zoo issued a “code blue” — an alert when non-dangerous animals aren’t in their enclosures — when employees discovered Nova was missing.
The zoo stressed that the cat, who weighs about 25 pounds, is not a danger to people. She is also not “a greater risk for pets” than other animals native to urban North Texas, the zoo said.
“But if you feel more comfortable bringing pets inside, please do,” the zoo wrote in a tweet.
“This is intensely frustrating,” said Harrison Edell, the zoo’s executive vice president for animal care and conservation. “This is a cat of conservation concern that is not a pet. She is a critically important member of our family at Dallas Zoo. She means a lot to us.”
Edell said the leopards are “very much nocturnal,” so Nova will be more active at night.
He also said that the animals are very attached to a “home territory” or a space they know — and for Nova, that’s the space immediately adjacent to her habitat. Nova’s sister remains in the habitat, and they are also “attached at the hip,” he said.
”Part of the hope is that tonight, with additional staff on grounds, some camera traps set up, we’ll get a sense of of where she might be spending time and that’ll give us the ability to bring her back home,” Edell said.
The zoo plans to open the Wilds of Africa, a section on the east side of the zoo, for normal weekend operations Saturday. But Zoo North, the area containing Nova’s enclosure, will remain closed if the animal is still missing, Hudson said.
Edell said during a morning news conference that zoo staff are “spending a lot of time with binoculars” looking for Nova in nearby trees.
“More likely than not … she’s going to climb a tree, stay out of our way, hunt some squirrels and birds and hope not to be noticed,” he said, adding that Nova does not pose a threat to humans.
Dallas police provided infrared drones to assist in the search, and Irving police were also helping with drone equipment. Dallas SWAT was deployed as a precaution, police said.
“When we initially responded to the location for a reportedly missing clouded leopard, we first dispatched our SWAT officers out here, not clearly understanding what a clouded leopard was,” Mitchell said. “We were thinking, perhaps a big cat.”
When Dallas police learned what type of animal they were dealing with, the SWAT officers were released and patrol resources were added to the investigation.
Edell said the staff checks enclosures multiple times a day, starting with a head count of every animal “first thing in the morning.”
If Nova makes it off zoo grounds, Edell said no one should attempt to grab her, but instead should send photos and tips to the zoo at 469-554-7501, info@dallaszoo.com or on Twitter.
Andrine Kolby and Will Barron, both 21, were planning to go to the zoo Friday, but said on the way there, as they were looking to buy tickets, they found out it was closed.
”It’s not dangerous, so I’m sure they’ll find it and it’ll be OK. We’ll have to go another day,” Kolby said, adding while she wasn’t expecting all of the animals to be outside due to the cold, she was still excited to go.
With an abrupt change of plans, Barron said they were planning to go downtown and improvise.
In the east Oak Cliff neighborhood beside the zoo, dogs, big and small, were in their yards and several house cats could be seen roaming outside.
Maria Lopez was out Friday afternoon tending to several chickens and a turkey in her backyard. While a few of the smaller chickens made their way through the fence lined with chicken wire, Lopez said she wasn’t very worried about the leopard getting to her fowl. The birds, she said, don’t leave their enclosure often.
The Dallas Zoo had never housed clouded leopards before September 2021, when two sisters, Nova and Luna, made their public debut after a move from the Houston Zoo.
Clouded leopards — named for the large, cloudlike spots that cover their bodies — stand only a couple feet tall and are a few feet long, Sara Bjerklie, an assistant zoological manager at the zoo, previously told The Dallas Morning News.
Bjerklie said they’re still as fierce as bigger predators, with canine teeth that can grow to more than 2 inches long, and the largest canine-to-skull ratio of all cats.
Of the two leopards, Bjerklie described Nova as more “standoffish.”
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