Trending
Jaguar Escapes From New Orleans Zoo And Kills 9 Animals
The jaguar then returned to its enclosure an hour later.
D.G. Sciortino
07.17.18

A jaguar escaped from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans on July 14 and went on a murderous rampage throughout the zoo.

Thankfully, the cat has been captured.

About nine animals were reportedly killed by the jaguar, whose name is Valerio, but there were no human injuries. About five months ago, his handlers described Valerio as a “big lovable goofball.”

Jennifer Zdon
Source:
Jennifer Zdon

“Meet Valerio, our male jaguar! He is incredibly smart and loves learning new training behaviors,” the zoo wrote in a Facebook post. “His care staff describe his personality as a ‘big lovable goofball!’ Stop by Jaguar Jungle and visit him today and learn all about this species.”

Audubon Zoo
Source:
Audubon Zoo

And he may with his handlers. But when the jaguar was let loose, his predatorial instincts kicked in. Valerio was discovered to have escaped his habitat around 7:20 a.m.

The zoo’s staff heard animals in distress and found Valerio in the fox pen.

The cat was then captured and sedated by a vet team about an hour after that and before the zoo had opened for the day.

Audubon Zoo
Source:
Audubon Zoo

“I’m really proud of our team’s emergency response to this and our effort to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Kyle Burks, vice president and managing director of Audubon Zoo and Park, said, according to NOLA.com.

But during that time, Valerio made quite a meal out of the other animals at the zoo.

“This continues to be a sad time for the Audubon family,” the zoo wrote on social media. “We appreciate the continued overwhelming support.”

NOLA.com
Source:
NOLA.com

Four alpacas, one emu, and one fox died on Saturday. Another alpaca and fox died on Sunday.

By Monday, another fox name Rusty was pronounced dead.

“We are sad to announce that Rusty, our fox who was being treated by veterinarians following the attack by our male jaguar, became critical last evening and despite best efforts, passed away this morning. The outpouring of community support is helping our staff through this devastating time, especially those who care for our animals. A memorial has been started in the front of the Zoo by caring members of the community,” the zoo wrote on Facebook.

Audubon Zoo
Source:
Audubon Zoo

The zoo announced on July 17 that the 3-year-old jaguar is believed to have escaped through an 8-by-10-inch hole in the roof of his enclosure.

They think he bit through the roof’s stainless steel fencing.

“I’m still processing that the animal was able to bite through this woven stainless steel cable,” Burks said.

NOLA.com
Source:
NOLA.com

The Jaguar Jungle is currently closed until repairs can be made and a stronger material than the stainless steel can be put in place.

Since there aren’t any cameras in the Jaguar Jungle area of the zoo, they aren’t sure how long Valerio was loose.

“I don’t know that we will ever know. We know that he was out long enough to do the things that he did,” Burks said. “For us, anytime he was out was too long.”

Audubon Institute
Source:
Audubon Institute

Right now the zoo and community is mourning the loss of the zoo’s animals that were killed by Valerio.

“They’re as much a part of our family as our human family members are,” Burks said.

But there is no bad blood against Valerio, as he too is considered apart of the zoo family.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Article Sources:
To learn more read our Editorial Standards.
Advertisement