Posted on 07/14/2018 4:48:40 PM PDT by BBell
The roof of the enclosure that Valerio the jaguar escaped from at Audubon Zoo had been "compromised," according to a Saturday afternoon (July 14) update from zoo leaders. An investigation is still underway to determine how exactly the 3-year-old jaguar got out, killing six animals and injuring three others.
The zoo did not specify how the roof has been compromised or what type of damage had been sustained. Audubon Zoo spokeswoman Lauren Messina Conrad said zoo staff would "know more about the enclosure once we complete a thorough investigation."
No animals will be housed in the habitat until the investigation and repairs are complete, according to a news release.
The zoo was closed Saturday after Valerio after a zoo staff member realized the young jaguar was not in his enclosure around 7:20 a.m. The jaguar was located, sedated and returned to a safe habitat by 8:15 a.m. No human injuries were reported, but zoo staff are mourning the loss of six animals, which included four alpaca, a fox and an emu.
It is not immediately clear what may have caused Valerio's enclosure to become comprised. Parts of the zoo's Jaguar Jungle area were renovated in March, but the enclosure Valerio escaped from had not been updated, said Kyle Burks, vice president and managing director at Audubon Zoo.
"Our animals are our family. We are devastated by this loss," the release said. "The safety of our guests, staff, volunteers, and animals is our number one priority. We are taking this incident very seriously and working to investigate what happened to prevent a similar occurrence in the future."
Maggie Mae the fox, Elmo the emu and four alpacas -- Noel, Micia, Alexandria, and Lil Melody -- did not survive their encounter with Valerio
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
“Grief counseling” - Could be an on-line course: Repeat after me, “Awwwwwww!”, “The hell you say”, “Lemme’ give you a hug”, “Really?” “Of all the rotten luck”, “Awwwwwww” (repeat twelve time, or as necessary)
Where is PETA? MEAT IS MURDER....that cat is not obeying the PETA dogma ( no pun intended)
Don’t you ever do that again. You hear me, don’t you ever do that again! I can’t stay mad at you. Look at that punum.
Leftist with wire cutters would be my first guess.
Probably true.
Reminds me of this clay-mation short by Nick Park of Wallace and Grommet fame.
I cue’d up the Jaguar to one of his best speeches. I think he makes four in all:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmNymPocKro&t=4m8s
Thanks! I’d never heard of Nick’s Park Creatures and I found them hilarious. I am a Grommet fan.
Beat me to it.
Nick Park is very creative and innovative.
I have built a lion exhibit at a major zoo.
The head keeper for that unit was a tough looking but pathologically cautious fellow around whom nothing like your gif clip would ever have occurred. He would always stop any conversation about the facility construction and look everyone in the eye and say, we are deadly serious here.
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