VIDEO: Cut in Fence of Second Habitat Discovered at Dallas Zoo After Clouded Leopard Escapes

Officials noticed a cut in the fencing of another animal enclosure at the Dallas Zoo recently after the search for a missing clouded leopard.

Zoo employees and police officers spent Friday trying to find the leopard after it escaped its enclosure when the fence was cut, NBC 5 reported Sunday.

The second cut fence was reportedly found at the langur monkey enclosure. It remained unclear if the incidents are related, according to WFAA.

The langurs stayed inside their habitat and did not appear to be injured, and “A criminal mischief offense report was made and Dallas Police are investigating the incident, police said,” the NBC report noted.

“The cut was found after police discovered a cut in the fencing at the clouded leopard habitat, leading to one of the zoo’s clouded leopards, Nova, escaping on Friday,” the outlet continued.

Dallas Zoo Vice President for Animal Care Harrison Edell explained zoologists realized that morning that one of the two leopards was missing:

We triggered what we call a code blue which essentially brings the staff resources that we need to find a non-dangerous animal that’s unaccounted for. I would encourage everybody at home to Google clouded leopard. Some of the early accounts say leopard. A leopard and a clouded leopard are dramatically different animals. So the cat that we’re looking for is about 20 pounds, between 20 and 25 pounds. She does not pose a danger to humans. And more likely than not, when she’s scared she’s going to climb a tree, stay out of our way, hunt some squirrels and birds, and hope not to be noticed.

In a social media post on Friday, the Dallas Zoo said Nova was located on zoo grounds just before 5:00 p.m.

“She was located very near the original habitat, and teams were able to safely secure her just before 5:15 p.m.,” the post read:

We are thrilled to report we located clouded leopard Nova on-grounds at the Zoo this afternoon at approximated 4:40 p.m. She was located very near the original habitat, and teams were able to safely secure her just before 5:15 p.m. pic.twitter.com/XucvBrQO4V

— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 13, 2023

The zoo told followers on Saturday Nova spent the day with her sister perched in a tree:

Clouded leopard Nova spent Saturday in the habitat with her sister Luna, perched up on a high branch while oh-so-many guests stopped by to wish her well. The vet & animal care teams say she shows no signs of injury and has settled right back into her routine today. #thankful

— Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 14, 2023

“The vet & animal care teams say she shows no signs of injury and has settled right back into her routine today,” the post read.