The police in Dallas said on Friday that they had opened a criminal investigation into the disappearance of a clouded leopard from its habitat at the Dallas Zoo earlier in the day.
The zoo did not open on Friday morning. Instead, zoo officials issued a “Code Blue,” summoning the police to help address what it described as a “serious situation” after zookeepers discovered that Nova, a 25-pound clouded leopard, was missing from her enclosure.
Officials said they found a tear in the mesh in the zoo’s two-story clouded leopard enclosure. Investigating further, they found Luna, a 3- or 4-year-old clouded leopard, safely in her habitat. But Nova, her sister, was gone.
Sgt. Warren Mitchell of the Dallas police said at a news conference on Friday afternoon that crime scene investigators had determined that the tear in the mesh had been made intentionally.
Speaking near the end of what he described as “a stressful and frustrating day for all of us here at the Dallas Zoo,” Gregg Hudson, the zoo’s president and chief executive, said the tear was “suspicious.”
“It was clear that this opening wasn’t habitat failure, wasn’t exhibit failure and it wasn’t keeper error,” Mr. Hudson said.
It was unclear if Nova had been taken off zoo grounds or whether she had escaped through the cut in her enclosure, Harrison Edell, the zoo’s executive vice president for animal care and conservation, said at the news conference.
He said zoo officials were working under the assumption that she was still on the 106-acre zoo property, and were working to find her and bring her home.
Mr. Edell emphasized that Nova posed no danger to humans. At a news conference earlier on Friday, before the criminal investigation was announced, he said that clouded leopards “are designed for life in the trees.”
Nova, he said, had probably climbed one and would “stay out of our way, hunt some squirrels and try not to be noticed.”
The police arrived at the zoo on Friday morning with drones equipped with “infrared capabilities,” which they used to help zoo workers to scan the treetops, Mr. Edell said.
Mr. Edell said members of the zoo’s staff believed that Nova and Luna were both still in their enclosure at 1 a.m. Friday.
“We do have security staff on grounds overnight and we have some animal care staff on grounds overnight,” he said. “So we know that at 1 a.m., we have staff who believe that both cats were accounted for in the same spot, but the specifics of the timeline are something that we’re still working through right now.”
There was hope that the timing of Nova’s escape, in winter when the trees are bare, would make her easier to spot, he said.
Luna and Nova arrived at the Dallas Zoo from the Houston Zoo in September 2021, according to a post on the Dallas Zoo’s Instagram account.
Clouded leopards are becoming more common at zoos across the country because of their inclusion in a species-survival program, said Paul Frandsen, a professor of plant and wildlife sciences at Brigham Young University.
“The females are a little bit nicer than the males,” Dr. Frandsen said. “But I think, like any wild animal, that they’re not totally domesticated. It’s not like a little cat.”
Clouded leopards are native to Southeast Asia and are listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The name refers to the markings on the leopards’ fur, which can look like clouds, but Dr. Frandsen said he likes to think of the name as a nod to their treetop dwellings.
Mr. Edell encouraged anyone who sees Nova to contact the zoo by calling its main phone number or by writing the zoo by email or through its social media accounts.
While Nova is not considered dangerous, he cautioned people not to approach her.
“Even though this is a small cat — she’s only 25 pounds; this is not a tiger or a lion — she’s still got a full complement of claws and teeth,” he said.
Dr. Frandsen also emphasized that people should keep their distance.
“When they’re stressed, then that can also be a little bit dangerous, but it’s not like a lion,” he said. “So I think it would be probably not smart for a human to go up and approach a clouded leopard, even if it’s a captive-bred individual.”
Mr. Edell reiterated at the news conference on Friday afternoon that Nova was not to be considered a domesticated animal, and should not be kept as a pet.
“This is a cat of conservation concern that is not a pet,” he said. “Before they realize what a bad idea this was due to some injury, I would rather they find a way to get her back to us.”
