Eighth Animal Dies After Jaguar Escapes At New Orleans Zoo
NEW ORLEANS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Eight animals have now died after a jaguar escaped from its habitat at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
NOLA.com reports an alpaca and fox died Sunday, the day after the male jaguar killed four alpacas, one emu and one fox Saturday morning. The jaguar was captured and returned to its night house after being sedated by a vet team.
No people were hurt and the zoo was reopened Sunday.
The zoo acquired the alpacas in March from farms in Alabama and Mississippi. The alpaca that died overnight Sunday was the zoo's last living alpaca.
One injured fox continues to be monitored.
It's not immediately clear how the animal escaped. Zoo officials say inspections found that the roof was "compromised," but initial findings concluded that keeper error was not a factor.
In a news conference on Saturday, Ron Forman, head of the Audubon Nature Institute, said, "This is by far the biggest incident we've had, the biggest magnitude, the biggest tragedy we've had."
In a Facebook post in February, the zoo called Valerio the jaguar a "big lovable goofball" and encouraged visitors to see him in its "Jaguar Jungle" exhibit.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)