Spotted Leopord Escapes from Durham Zoo

This morning, around 7:30 AM, the Durham Zoo reported that Fluffy, the zoo’s rare spotted leopard, escaped from its cage.

The zoo allegedly noticed Fluffy was missing from her cage as soon as workers opened the zoo and began feeding the animals. She was last seen at 9 PM the previous night.

“Everything about her cage seemed normal,” said Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo. “The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken.”

James Petronkis of Newmarket has been a fan of Fluffy for years. Upon his arrival to the zoo, he noticed immediately that something was wrong.

“Fluffy usually draws the straw up into a nest when she sleeps, but there was no nest- there wasn’t even any straw.”

Petronkis continued to notify a guard, but was turned away. Half an hour later, he notified them again of his suspicions about Fluffy’s disappearance.

“This time they checked her house, and then all hell broke loose,” he said.

As of 9:00 this morning, Fluffy was still nowhere to be found. Police and zoo workers scoured the zoo frantically, looking in trash cans, behind buildings, in trees, and even inside the cotton candy concession.

“We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went,” said Durrel. “She could be walking around Durham at this point. We just don’t know.”

Fluffy, a 10 year old Romanian spotted leopard, is one of only five such animals in existence. These kinds of animals are known to be extremely dangerous, nearly driven to extinction in Romania because of their appetite for young children.

“We are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school,” said Police Chief William Blair. “We don’t want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school. We have got to find her before 3 PM.

Kitty Smith, the zoo’s biologist, informed the crowd about Romanian spotted leopards and what will lead them to attack.

“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 kill quickly.”

Smith said that anyone who encounters Fluffy should get slowly to the ground and lay still. Fluffy may do a lot of sniffing and licking, but unless she senses fear, she is not likely to react violently. It is important to also avoid making eye contact with the leopard.

Police efforts are already being put into place to find the cat. The New Hampshire State Police and the state wildlife department are to help with the search, in addition to five helicopters equipped with infrared sensors, supplied by the National Guard.

“We’re gonna find this cat if it kills us,” said Blair.

Fluffy was a gift to the city of Durham by its sister city in Romania Durhamvoska. She is the only female of her kind in existence. Next month she was to be flown to China to mate with a male spotted leopard owned by the Chinese government.

Although Fluffy may be dangerous, it is clear that she is very dear to those who work at the zoo.

“We miss Fluffy and we want her back safe and sound,” said Smith, before quickly exiting the stage, overwhelmed by tears.

“We love that cat, and we don’t want to lose her,” said Durrell.