A smoky leopard escapes from the Dallas Zoo, believed to be hiding somewhere on the grounds

A smoky leopard escaped from its habitat at the Dallas Zoo, it was announced Friday. naming the incident “serious situation”. The animal, named Nova, weighs between 20 and 25 pounds, CBS DFW informed.

The Dallas Police Department said it is helping zoo officials find the animal while the zoo remains closed as a search for the animal has begun.

“We currently have an ongoing Code Blue situation at the zoo, which is a dangerous animal that is outside of its habitat,” officials said in a statement. “One of our smoky leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is currently considered missing.”

The zoo added: “Given the nature of these animals, we believe the animal is still on the property and hiding.”

Nova’s residence is in an area not far from a children’s zoo, reports CBS DFW. It’s between Prime Meriden Cafe and Primate Place, across from the tigers and turtles in the northeast part of the zoo.

“While I wouldn’t put her off hunting squirrels or birds if given the chance, she is absolutely not a danger to humans,” Garrison Edell, the Dallas Zoo’s executive vice president of animal care and protection, told the station. “If you happen to see a cat that is larger than a domestic cat but smaller than a bobcat, please call us.”

Clouded leopards are native to Southeast Asia. Nova came to the Dallas Zoo from the Houston Zoo, where she was born along with her sister Luna.

As they claim in Smithsonian National and Zoo Conservation and Biological Institute. Males weigh up to 50 pounds, while females weigh much less, usually 25 to 35 pounds.

CBS DFW reports that this is not the first time an animal has escaped from its habitat at the zoo.

In 2004, a 300-pound male gorilla named Jabari scaled a 14-foot wall and mauled three people. The police killed him.

In 2010, another gorilla named Tufani escaped from the enclosure when a worker left the door open. Tufani never entered public places.

The following year, in 2011, the zoo declared a Code Red when an adult chimpanzee named Coco escaped through an unsecured gate in what authorities described as a sort of “bedroom.” She was shot with darts in the hallway and sedated.