Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP/Shutterstock
The Dallas Zoo is investigating another “unusual” incident.
On Jan. 22 —days after a clouded leopard briefly escapedfrom its enclosure at the Texas zoo — the facility announced on Facebook that one of the endangered vultures living in the zoo’s Wilds of Africa habitatswas found dead.
“The animal care team is heartbroken over this tremendous loss. Please keep them in your thoughts as they process what has happened,” the Dallas Zoo shared.
The zoo is especially concerned about the vulture’s death because of the mystery surrounding the incident.
“The circumstances of the death are unusual, and the death does not appear to be from natural causes. Given the recent incidents at the Zoo, we alerted the Dallas Police Department. We cannot share many details until Dallas PD has had more time to look into this matter,” the Dallas Zoo added in its social media post about the late vulture.
The “incidents” the Dallas Zoo is referencing here are the recent escape of a clouded leopard and the discovery ofcut fencing at a monkey habitat.
Dallas Zoo
On Jan. 14, one of two clouded leopard sisters living at the zoo escaped her enclosure. The disappearance of the leopard — a female named Nova — forced the zoo to close while zookeepers and police officers searched for the animal. Luckily, Nova was found unharmed and safely returned to her habitat the same day as her disappearance.
Police continued investigating the feline’s escape after Nova returned and found evidence that someone intentionally tampered with the clouded leopard’s enclosure.
In response to these two incidents, the Dallas Zoo “added additional cameras throughout the Zoo and increased onsite security patrols during the overnight hours,” according to the facility’s post about the vulture’s death.
“We will continue to implement and expand our safety and security measures to whatever level necessary to keep our animals and staff safe,” the zoo added before concluding the post with a promise to “provide updates as we know more.”
source: people.com
