DALLAS, Texas. – The Dallas Zoo is receiving assistance from the Dallas Police Department in locating a clouded leopard named Nova that escaped from her habitat on Friday.
A tweet from the zoo stated that it would be closed Friday “due to a serious situation” before zoo officials confirmed the escape, saying Nova was not in her habitat when their team arrived Friday morning.
“The Zoo is closed today as our teams work to find and recover the animal,” a follow-up tweet stated. “Given the nature of these animals, we believe the animal is still on grounds and hiding.”
Dallas PD is onsite assisting with the search efforts. The Zoo is closed today as our teams work to find and recover the animal. Given the nature of these animals, we believe the animal is still on grounds and hiding. We will share updates and more information as soon as we can.
— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 13, 2023
According to local news outlets, this is not the first time the zoo has experienced an animal escaping its habitat.
In 2011, an adult chimpanzee named Koko escaped through an unsecured gate and was eventually shot with a dart gun in a hallway, which sedated her.
In 2010, a gorilla named Tufani escaped his holding area after an employee left a door open, but Tufani never gained access to a public area.
And in 2004, a male gorilla named Jabari was fatally shot by police after he scaled a 14-foot wall and mauled three people.
Clouded leopards are found in southeast Asia and China and males grow to be about 50 pounds, while females are typically between 25 to 30 pounds, according to the Smithsonian Institute. In the wild, their diet consists of monkeys, small deer and wild boars.