Leopard Escapes from Durham Zoo
Durham, N.H. – Fluffy, the Durham Zoo’s rare spotted leopard, escaped from her cage sometime after 9 p.m. Tuesday night, according to the director of the zoo.
The cage showed no signs of tampering, and the surrounding fencing was unbroken, Director Gerry Durrell said at a news conference this morning. “We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to find her and bring her back.”
Police and zoo workers have been vigorously searching the zoo grounds since Fluffy’s absence was noted at 7:30 this morning. Police Chief William Blair said his team will search the surrounding neighborhood if Fluffy is not found in the zoo.
“We are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school and we don’t want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school.”
Blair told the crowd that the New Hampshire State Police and the state wildlife department have been asked to assist the search. Additionally, the National Guard has supplied five helicopters with infrared sensors.
Fluffy is one of only five Romanian spotted leopards in the world, and the only female of her kind, according to Kitty Smith, the zoo’s chief biologist. Fluffy is black with white spots, weighs 146 pounds, and can run 60 miles an hour.
Despite calling Fluffy “extremely dangerous,” Smith insisted that she is “a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone.” Smith did admit, however, that if cornered the animal’s instinct would be to “kill, and to kill quickly.”
Families at the zoo were visibly upset upon hearing the news, but more for Fluffy’s safety than their own. “Fluffy would never hurt anyone,” one man said as he left the zoo. “I want my money back, and then I’m never coming back here again.”
Durham, N.H. – Fluffy, the Durham Zoo’s rare spotted leopard, escaped from her cage sometime after 9 p.m. Tuesday night, according to the director of the zoo.
The cage showed no signs of tampering, and the surrounding fencing was unbroken, Director Gerry Durrell said at a news conference this morning. “We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went,” he said. “We are doing everything we can to find her and bring her back.”
Police and zoo workers have been vigorously searching the zoo grounds since Fluffy’s absence was noted at 7:30 this morning. Police Chief William Blair said his team will search the surrounding neighborhood if Fluffy is not found in the zoo.
“We are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school and we don’t want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school.”
Blair told the crowd that the New Hampshire State Police and the state wildlife department have been asked to assist the search. Additionally, the National Guard has supplied five helicopters with infrared sensors.
Fluffy is one of only five Romanian spotted leopards in the world, and the only female of her kind, according to Kitty Smith, the zoo’s chief biologist. Fluffy is black with white spots, weighs 146 pounds, and can run 60 miles an hour.
Despite calling Fluffy “extremely dangerous,” Smith insisted that she is “a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone.” Smith did admit, however, that if cornered the animal’s instinct would be to “kill, and to kill quickly.”
Families at the zoo were visibly upset upon hearing the news, but more for Fluffy’s safety than their own. “Fluffy would never hurt anyone,” one man said as he left the zoo. “I want my money back, and then I’m never coming back here again.”
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