Visitors to the Durham Zoo were rushed to the exit at 9am this morning when a leopard was found missing from its cage. A press conference was held to address the issue while police and zoo workers frantically searched the grounds for the lost leopard.
Gerry Durrell, director of the Durham Zoo, said that when the zoo opened 7:30 a.m. this morning, Fluffy, the spotted leopard, was immediately noticed as absent from her cage.
“Everything about her cage seemed normal,” Durrell said. “The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with.”
“We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went,” Durrell continued. “We love that cat, and we don’t want to lose her,” Durrell finished, leaving the stage with tears in his eyes.
James Petronkis from Newmarket was at the zoo at 7:30 a.m. this morning for his daily visit to see his favorite leopard, Fluffy.
“Everything seemed normal, until I got to the cage,” Petronkis said. Petronkis is accustomed to seeing the leopard asleep in a nest of straw that she draws together in a small house inside her cage. Today there was no straw and no leopard.
Petronkis alerted a guard of his observation and was instructed to “mind his own business.” To try and raise concern, Petronkis pulled the fire alarm and waited for the zoo guards to check the leopard’s cage.
“This time they checked the house, and then all hell broke loose,” Petronkis said. Police officers and zoo staff arrived with guns in hand and visitors to the zoo began to panic.
“It sounded like a thousand cars squealing their tires,” Petronkis said. “It was mayhem.”
Children were crying and adults were grumbling because of the disaster taking place at the zoo. Some people called out the leopard’s good nature while others demanded a refund for their lost visit. At the time, the main concern of the zoo staff and police department was to locate and secure the leopard.
According to Kitty Smith, chief biologist at the Durham Zoo, Fluffy is a 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard, one of only five left in existence. The leopard is noted to be “extremely dangerous” with an appetite for young children, causing a major concern for Police Chief William Blair.
“We will first search every inch of this zoo. If possible, Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer gun,” Blair said. If the leopard is not found in the zoo, the search will move to the surrounding neighborhood where an elementary school is located.
“We have to find her before 3 p.m.,” Blair said. “If we don’t, it could be a very messy night.”
“Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone,” Smith said. “But if these cats are cornered- or encountered on a dark night- their defense is to kill, and to kill quickly.”
Smith said the leopard is black with white spots, weighs 146 pounds and can run up to 60 miles an hour. Smith advised anyone who may encounter the cat in the search to avoid eye contact, get slowly to the ground and lay still.
The New Hampshire State Police, the State Wildlife Department and the National Guard are assisting in the search and providing supplies such as helicopters and infrared sensors to help locate the leopard in the dark.
“We’re going to find this cat if it kills us,” Blair said.
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