A leopard was actively sought on Monday, May 10 in eastern China after its escape with two other felines from an animal park, which was crumbling under criticism for having delayed raising the alert.
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Residents of Hangzhou, a large city located some 160 km southwest of Shanghai, spotted the presence of a feline in the wild on Thursday. Some then thought that the animal may have escaped from a nearby zoo. But the Hangzhou animal park, which is home to many savannah animals, initially denied any connection. Before announcing Saturday a temporary closure for "
security reasons
". The news quickly went viral on social media.
It was not until much later on Saturday that the zoo finally admitted that one of its residents had dressed up. And the animal park to apologize for not having given the alert earlier, so as not to "
cause panic
". Local authorities announced on Monday the arrest of five people, including the zoo manager, and the opening of an investigation. According to Chinese media, a total of three young leopards fled the animal park. Two could be captured during the weekend, the third was still wanted on Monday with significant resources, especially air.
Animal parks in China are frequently criticized for the living conditions of animals but also for fatal incidents attributed to lax safety rules. This is not the first time that wild animals have spread terror in the country. Last month, a Siberian tiger came face to face with a peasant in a village on the Russian border before attacking him, local press reported.