Although she did not venture far, her escapade resulted in the zoo’s closure as police officers carried out a search, including using drones equipped with infrared capability to scour the treetops.
Caretakers first noticed that Nova, a 4-year-old clouded leopard, was not in the enclosure with her sister Luna on Friday morning. A tear in the mesh surrounding the pair’s enclosure led staff to the assumption that Nova had escaped through the hole.
Harrison Edell, a vice president for animal care at the Texas zoo, stressed at the time that clouded leopards do not generally “pose a danger to humans.”
“If you happen to see a cat that is bigger than a housecat, smaller than a bobcat, we’d love a heads-up,” he said.
While zoo staff were confident that Nova had not left the grounds, they asked Dallas locals to remain vigilant and send photos of any suspected sightings.
After a facility shut down and countless checks of treetops, Nova was located close to her enclosure.
The zoo said on Twitter it was “thrilled to report” it had located Nova “on-grounds at the Zoo this afternoon.”
“She was located very near the original habitat, and teams were able to safely secure her just before 5:15 pm (2315 GMT),” it said.
Nova was quickly evaluated by veterinary staff, although she did not appear to have any visible injuries.
Dallas police, who were on-site to assist in the search for the cat have since launched an investigation after finding evidence that the habitat of the leopards was intentionally cut. Additionally, a similar cut was also found at the habitat of the zoo’s Langur monkeys.
