DALLAS (AP) — Police investigating after a clouded leopard escaped from its enclosure at the Dallas Zoo say a cutting tool was used to intentionally make a hole in the fence of the little cat’s habitat, and a similar cut was found in a habitat for little monkeys.
Dallas police said Saturday night they did not know if the two incidents were related. None of the langur monkeys escaped and none appeared to be injured.
On Friday, zoo workers arrived to find a clouded leopard named Nova missing from her habitat. A day-long search ensued, during which the zoo was closed while officials and police searched the 100-acre (40-hectare) grounds. She was found in the late afternoon near her habitat.
After Nova was found to be unharmed, the zoo said she spent Saturday with her sister Luna in their habitat, “perched on a high branch while so many guests stopped by to wish her well.”
Police and zoo officials said they reviewed the surveillance footage, but did not say what it showed or whether there were any potential suspects.
Animals have escaped from the Dallas Zoo’s enclosures before. The most notable was in 2004, when a 340-pound (154-kilogram) gorilla named Jabari jumped a wall and went on a rampage for 40 minutes, injuring three people before police shot and killed the animal.
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