Missing leopard found in Dallas zoo

Dallas Zoo officials said Friday that a missing leopard was found after a daylong search. Evidence was found that the fence of the small cat’s habitat had been “intentionally” cut, police said.

The zoo tweeted that the cat named Nova, a clouded leopard who weighs about 25 pounds, did not appear injured and was found near her original habitat. The search had closed Texas’ largest zoo to visitors while staff and police combed the 100-acre grounds.

The zoo announced that Nova had been found just moments after a news conference in which police said a criminal investigation had been opened. Police and zoo officials said they have reviewed surveillance footage but would not say what it showed or whether there were potential suspects.

“It is our belief that this was an intentional act,” Dallas Police Sgt. Warren Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Dallas police at first dispatched SWAT officers to the zoo, not understanding the size of a clouded leopard. Police drones helped search the zoo grounds, including trees. Harrison Edell, executive vice president of animal care and conservation at the Dallas Zoo, said clouded leopards like to climb.



A pair of Dallas police vehicles and officers sit at an entrance at the Dallas Zoo, Friday morning, Jan. 13, 2023. A missing clouded leopard shut down the zo on Friday as police helped search for the animal that officials described as not dangerous and likely hiding somewhere on the zoo grounds. (Shakfat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News via AP)