The escaped jaguar fatally kills seven animals during the night before being asleep by zoo officials

A jaguar from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans escaped from his paddock and launched into an overnight territorial killings, attacking four alpacas, an emu and a fox trapped in their own habitat before the zoo's managers manage to calm him down. 19659002] The first cat was reported missing for the first time at 7:20 am, before the zoo opened, officials said in a press release. At 8:15, he was spotted, tranquilized and returned to his pen by veterinarians.

No animals were injured by the animal, although the circumstances of the escape caused a disturbing reflection on what could have been: The jaguar jungle. At a press conference Saturday, zoo officials insisted that the facility was safe for the general public even though they would not say how the predator managed to s & # 39; Escape and kill or hurt all others.

The New Orleans defender eventually reported that the roof of the jaguar's compound had been compromised

In addition to the killed animals, three other wounded animals were being cared for.

The Jaguar, a 3-year-old Valerio, did not seem to eat the animals he was looking for, but was rather engaged in a territorial show, said Kyle Burks, vice president of zoo and general manager. The animals on which he threw himself were unable to escape their own pens.

The zoo was closed on Saturday as the authorities tried to find out how the feline had escaped. Bereavement counselors were also brought for the traumatized staff. The zoo planned to reopen Sunday at 10:00 am

But the incident was certain to raise questions about the dangers of caged predators that evolved to hunt and kill, and will quickly pounce on prey – or humans – if the guarantees fail.

In the spring of 2017, a British zoo keeper was injured after being trapped in the tiger enclosure of Hamerton Park Zoo with at least one of the big cats.

Horrified witnesses said they could see zookeepers at the edge of the tiger enclosure

In 2016, Stacey Konwiser, 38-year-old zookeeper, was killed by a tiger while He was preparing the "House of Night" at the Palm Beach Zoo. The house is where the animals are cleaned and fed, and then boarded during the night.

Also this year, in Beijing Safari World, a woman was injured and her mother was killed after the woman got out of her car. tiger.

This is a young jaguar. He did what jaguars do. True, his behavior was not out of the ordinary for this kind of animal

Such breakdowns, experts told the Post, do not only occur in poor quality zoos with slapdash animal care practices

you know, on a recurring basis around the world, "said Doug Cress, general manager of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. is because you are dealing with animals that, at their genetic basis, are constructed differently from what we would like them to be. They are designed to be wild animals.

Joel Hamilton, vice president and general curator of the Audubon Zoo, echoed this sentiment when asked if there was anything particularly aggressive at Valerio. I said. "He was doing what the jaguars do.Sure, his behavior was not unusual for this kind of animal."

Jaguars are opportunistic hunters who attack more than 85 species , according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Their habitat extends from the jungles of Central America and South America, where IUCN considers them to be "near threatened", south of Arizona and New Zealand. Mexico, where they are listed as Endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Lions and tigers are the only big cats that are bigger than jaguars, making them the largest cats in the Americas.

The Audubon Zoo, which comes from a bird habitat built in 1916, is a 58-acre jewel. The best zoos in the nation, "according to the Audubon Nature Institute, which oversees the zoo and other properties. It is located in Uptown New Orleans, between Audubon Park and Mississippi.

Ron Forman, the president and CEO of the zoo, said Saturday's series of attacks was the worst in the zoo's history, but has told the public that the Audubon Zoo was still safe. 19659002] "The zoo has been here for 100 years," said Forman. During this period, we had more than 100 million visitors to the zoo. We have never had an incident like this before. So I think statistically, there is nothing to fear for the safety of coming to the zoo. "

But the lawyer said that he found five other cases in the history of the zoo when one animal escaped, including another jaguar who was

In 1992, an African warthog broke a hole in her fence and drove her back before she was sedated, according to the newspaper. "Two years later Late, a 17-year-old lion escaped his enclosure when a guard opened an enclosure.

In 2009, a male orangutan used a T-shirt to climb a wall of 10 feet and out of the habitat, although the critically endangered primate came back when a zookeeper shouted at him.Another primate escaped in March 2013 but was tranquilized a half-hour after his release.

And in December 2001, according to the newspaper, a 9-month-old jaguar pierced the wire that bordered the jaguar show. The juvenile cat was free for 10 minutes before being half s under sedation.