Small children crying, cotton candy machines being searched through, and a famed beast possibly on the rampage?
One of the rarest animals in the world and the Durham Zoo’s prized possession, Fluffy a ten year old spotted leopard, has gone missing from her cage.
Fluffy, the last female of her species in the world, was first spotted missing by James Petronkis, a Newmarket resident, Petronkis visits the Durham Zoo at 7:30 every morning to see Fluffy.
After noticing that Fluffy’s cage did not have her bed of hay in it, Petronkis became worried and tried to alert zoo officials by pulling the fire alarm. A half an hour later zoo officials checked Fluffy’s cage and house and then realized that the leopard was missing.
After an hour of unsuccessful searching for the cat, Gerry Durrel, director of the Durham Zoo, called a press conference to alert the public to Durham’s missing beast. Durrel said that Fluffy’s cage did not seem to be tampered with and the fencing was unbroken.
He also said that at 7:30 when zoo officials started feeding animals they noticed that Fluffy was missing, in contrast to Petronkis’s story.
The zoo has been closed down to the public while the search for the animal continues.
There are no leads for those searching for Fluffy said Durrell and the last time the leopard was last seen was 9 p.m. the night before, in her cage.
Police Chief William Blair said that a search is underway and “We will search every inch of this zoo.”
If Fluffy does not show up at the zoo though the search will continue, “If we can’t find her in the zoo we will begin searching the neighborhood, moving farther and farther away from the zoo. “
A primary concern according to the chief is finding Fluffy before 3 p.m. when the local elementary school it let out.
According to Durham Zoo chief biologist, Kitty Smith, “these leopards had to be driven to the brink of extinction because of their appetite for young children.”
Smith described Fluffy as being black with white spots, weighting 146 pounds, and with the ability to run up to 60 miles per hour.
Blair, speaking about the animal also said that they are able to see perfectly well at night.
This is an animal that has a "kill now, ask later," approach to the world according to Smith. Meaning that finding the cat after dark or cornering the leopard is the not the way to capture it.