Durham, N.H. - A rare 10-year-old spotted Romanian leopard broke free from an alarmed cage at the Durham Zoo at 7:30 a.m. this morning as the zoo was doing a routine feeding. After a thorough search of the grounds, “Fluffy’ was confirmed as missing without leaving any trace of her whereabouts.
“Everything about her cage seemed normal,” said Gary Durrell, the director of the zoo. “The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken.”
Durrell, amid a chaotic crowd carrying high-powered rifles, announced that Fluffy was last seen in her cage when the zoo was closed at 9 p.m. last night. At that time everything seemed normal.
“We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went, “he said. “She may have left the area and could be walking around Durham at this point. We just don’t know.”
The zoo’s chief biologist, Kitty Smith, takes a stand at the podium to quell visitor’s fear of the escaped 146 pound predator. “Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone,” she said “But if these cats are cornered-or encountered on a dark night- there defense is to kill and to kill quickly.
Smith says Fluffy, one of only five such animals in existence, was a gift to the city by Durham’s sister city in Romania, Durhamvoska. The priceless animal has been a feature at the zoo for five years. Plans to fly Fluffy to China to mate with a male leopard owned by the Chinese government have been halted.
Police Chief William Blair of the New Hampshire State Police takes the stage and outlines the search for Fluffy: “We will first search every inch of this zoo,” he said. “If we can’t find her in the zoo, we will begin searching the neighborhood, moving farther and farther from the zoo.”
“Everything about her cage seemed normal,” said Gary Durrell, the director of the zoo. “The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken.”
Durrell, amid a chaotic crowd carrying high-powered rifles, announced that Fluffy was last seen in her cage when the zoo was closed at 9 p.m. last night. At that time everything seemed normal.
“We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went, “he said. “She may have left the area and could be walking around Durham at this point. We just don’t know.”
The zoo’s chief biologist, Kitty Smith, takes a stand at the podium to quell visitor’s fear of the escaped 146 pound predator. “Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone,” she said “But if these cats are cornered-or encountered on a dark night- there defense is to kill and to kill quickly.
Smith says Fluffy, one of only five such animals in existence, was a gift to the city by Durham’s sister city in Romania, Durhamvoska. The priceless animal has been a feature at the zoo for five years. Plans to fly Fluffy to China to mate with a male leopard owned by the Chinese government have been halted.
Police Chief William Blair of the New Hampshire State Police takes the stage and outlines the search for Fluffy: “We will first search every inch of this zoo,” he said. “If we can’t find her in the zoo, we will begin searching the neighborhood, moving farther and farther from the zoo.”
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