A missing clouded leopard shut down the Dallas Zoo on Friday as police helped search for the animal that officials described as not dangerous and likely hiding somewhere on the zoo grounds.
The small cat weighs about 20-25 pounds (9-11 kilograms), said Harrison Edell, executive vice president of animal care and conservation at the Dallas Zoo. The search inside Texas' largest zoo was focused on scouring trees, which Edell said clouded leopards like to climb.
The zoo tweeted that the missing cat, named Nova, was a “serious situation,” but Edell said the animal posed no threat to humans.
“If anything, she's real nervous and afraid of people,” Edell said.
He did not say how the animal escaped its enclosure. Another clouded leopard at the zoo, Nova's sister, was still in its habitat, Edell said.
Animals have escaped enclosures from the Dallas Zoo before. Most notably was in 2004, when a 340-pound (154-kilogram) gorilla named Jabari jumped over a wall and went on a 40-minute rampage that injured three people before police shot and killed the animal.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for fighting oppression of women in Iran.
Three people were indicted and arraigned on second-degree murder charges for the death of a toddler who was allegedly exposed to fentanyl at a Bronx, NY daycare center.
Cheddar News checks in with your coast-to-coast weekend weather forecast for Friday, Oct., 2023.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Narges Mohammadi for fighting the oppression of women in Iran.
Ed Kashi is on a global mission to introduce photography to children.
After a summer of record-breaking heat, scientists say the month of September proved to be far warmer on average than other months.
Cheddar News checks in with your coast-to-coast weather forecast for Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.
Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast 'Serial,' is due back before the Maryland Supreme Court.
Actress Julia Ormond is suing disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein over an alleged assault.
The largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history has entered its second day.
