what to know
- The Dallas Zoo discovered that Nova, a clouded leopard, was missing from its habitat Friday morning.
- Clouded leopards are small cats, about the size of a medium-sized dog and weighing about 30 pounds.
- The zoo is closed while the search for Nova continues. Zoo officials believe the animal is still on zoo property.
Dallas police are helping search the Dallas Zoo Friday for a missing clouded leopard, a small cat that poses no threat to humans that escaped from its habitat overnight.
The Dallas Zoo posted on social media Friday morning that the zoo is closed due to a serious situation: a code blue, indicating that a non-dangerous animal was out of its habitat.
“One of our clouded leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is unknown at this time,” the zoo said in its statement. “The zoo is closed today while our teams work to find and recover the animal.”
The zoo identified the missing clouded leopard as Nova and said it escaped from its habitat through a tear in the mesh enclosure it shares with its sister Luna. The two cats were brought to the Dallas Zoo in 2021 after being bred at the Houston Zoo, according to our partners at The Dallas Morning News.
Getty Images
Clouded leopard, stock photo.
Harrison Edell, vice president of animal care at the Dallas Zoo, said Friday morning that clouded leopards are very different animals from other leopards. They are much smaller, weighing about 30 pounds, and pose no danger to humans.
Edell said that while Nova might be scared, she most likely climbed a tree to stay out of the way, hunt squirrels and birds and hope they don’t notice.
Since it’s winter and there are far fewer leaves on the trees, Edell said it should make finding Nova easier. While the employees look at the trees from the ground, with binoculars, the clouded leopards are very good at staying hidden. He added that Dallas police are assisting in the search, scanning the treetops with drones equipped with infrared technology.
The zoo said they believe Nova is still inside the zoo and hiding. The Clouded Leopard Habitat is located in Primate Place on the northwest side of the zoo, north of Clarendon Drive.
If the cat is seen outside the zoo’s grounds, Edell warned that while it’s not dangerous to people, it’s still a wild animal and people shouldn’t try to catch it on their own.
“If you see a cat that’s bigger than a house cat, smaller than a lynx, we’d like a grandparent. And photos are also helpful in making sure we know what we’re looking at. So if people get the chance of taking a photo of a cat that looks bigger than usual, we’ll take any tips we can get,” Edell said.
The zoo added in a statement late Friday: “To put some minds at ease, if it has gotten off the ground, this animal is no greater risk to pets than the animals native to North Texas that roam the our surrounding neighborhoods, but If you feel more comfortable bringing pets inside, please do.”
The zoo remains closed Friday while the search for the animal continues.
WHAT IS A CLOUDED LEOPARD?
According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, clouded leopards are native to Southeast Asia and are a vulnerable species. Male cats weigh up to 50 pounds while females are smaller and weigh between 25 and 35 pounds.
Cats have large paws and are very good at climbing and are one of the few animals that can climb trees head on.
“Clouded leopards are not a ‘type’ of leopard as their name suggests. They are a separate species of wild cat, as are snow leopards and leopards,” reports the Smithsonian.
Dallas Zoo
A clouded leopard at the Dallas Zoo.
Cats are carnivores that chase their prey from trees and attack from above. The Smithsonian said that in the wild a clouded leopard eats gibbons, macaques, slow lorises, small deer and wild boar.
According to a Dallas Zoo map, gibbon habitat is adjacent to clouded leopard habitat.
They are mainly nocturnal and have an average life of 12-15 years. With human care, cats can live 17 years, the Smithsonian said.
ANIMAL ESCAPES AT THE DALLAS ZOO
In 2004, a 13-year-old gorilla named Jabari scaled a 14-foot wall and injured four people before being shot by Dallas police. After this incident, the zoo strengthened security measures at the exhibit.
In 2010, Tufani the gorilla escaped from his locked room and was spotted by a zoo employee preparing food behind a closed door. The zoo calmed Tufani down and returned her to her living room within an hour. No injuries were reported.
In 2011, Koko, a chimpanzee at the Dallas Zoo, was sedated after briefly escaping her enclosure. The animal was housed in an area not open to the public. No injuries were reported.
Two weeks after Koko’s escape, also in 2011, a spider monkey briefly escaped from its enclosure and was above its habitat for about half an hour. Zoo officials said at the time that the animal basically “came out of its bedroom, but it was still in the house.” The spider monkey’s escape was attributed to human error. No injuries were reported.
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