DALLAS — The Dallas Zoo closed Friday because of “a serious situation” involving a missing clouded leopard.
The zoo said it issued a “code blue” at 10:20 a.m., adding the Dallas Police Department was onsite trying to find the “non-dangerous” cat, 4-year-old Nova, who was unaccounted for when staff checked her habitat earlier Friday morning.
“Given the nature of these animals, we believe the animal is still on grounds and hiding,” the zoo wrote in a tweet.
Harrison Edell, the zoo’s executive vice president for animal care and conservation, said during a news conference that zoo staff found a tear in the mesh surrounding Nova’s enclosure and are “spending a lot of time with binoculars” looking for her in nearby trees.
Dallas police provided infrared drones to assist in the search. SWAT was also deployed as a precaution, police said.
“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 danger to humans.
Edell declined to comment on specifics of when the zoo discovered Nova was missing, but 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.
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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