Escaped Leopard Story 24 Oct

DURHAM - The Durham Zoo's rare spotted leopard, Fluffy, has disappeared without leaving a trace last Tuesday night.

The discovery was made by Fluffy-lover James Petronkis,. 36, of 34 West St. Newmarket. The man, who visits the zoo every morning to visit his favorite animal, "immediately  recognized that something was wrong". Fluffy had not made her straw nest, as she usually does when she goes to sleep.

When Petronkis alarmed the zookeepers, he was told not to worry and to mind his own business, for the cage door was shut and locked, and the fence appeared unbroken. Also, the escape alarm on Fluffy's cage did not sound,

However, official alarm was raised half an hour later when zookeepers noticed that the leopard was not inside of her little house.

Upon this alarm, the Zoo's gates were closed and visitors were escorted out of the zoo as quickly as possible.

The news of the escape was received with mixed feelings. The crowd of visitors at the gate mainly appeared scared and confused. Children were crying, grown-ups were scowling. As said a man from the crowd: "I want my money back, and then I'm never coming back here again! This place is out of control."

Durrell, the director of the Durham Zoo, reacted with as much emotion during the press conference the Zoo gave on the escape at 9.00 a.m. this morning. "We love that cat, and we don't want to lose her", he said with teary eyes. Kitty Smith, the Zoo's chief biologist, is also tear-struck when she reports on the news.

The escaped animal is an extremely rare 10-year-old Romanian leopard. Only 5 of such animals are still alive today, of which Fluffy is the only female. She has a black fur with white spots, weighs 146 pounds and can run op to 60 miles an hour.

In Romania, these animals have become extremely rare after they have been hunted down because of their appetite for young children. Despite the fact that Fluffy is being fed on chickens, she is still very dangerous and not to be tampered with.

Says Smith: "Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle cat who has never hurt anyone. But if she is cornered, or encountered on a dark night, [...]  she will kill now and ask later."

Smith recommends people who run into Fluffy to lay down and keep still. Fluffy may be licking and sniffing on them, but she will not react violently if you do not look her in the eye nor are scared.

Later during the press conference, Police Chief William Blair takes the word. He is the head of the search for the missing leopard.

Zookeepers armed with high-powered rifles and pistols were searching the area thoroughly as Blair enlightened the audience with his plans for capturing the leopard.

"We will begin searching every inch of this zoo"  he said, " If we cannot find her in the zoo, we will be searching the neighbourhood, beginning close to the zoo and then enlarging the circle.

 He emphasizes the importance of the capturing of the hungry cat: "We don't want to have her wanrdering around when our children get out of school." Also, the cat is almost impossible to find in the dark, for Fluffy has perfect nightvision and humans do not.

Blair will be aided in his search by the New Hampshire State Police and the State Wildlife department.