Class Assignment 3/11

“Extremely Dangerous” Leopard on the Loose in Durham

A rare, potentially dangerous spotted leopard is missing from its cage in the Durham Zoo, and officials are unsure of its whereabouts.
Fluffy, as the leopard is called, was noticed to be missing when the zoo opened this morning, according to Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo. The door of the cage was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken. Alarms rigged to the cage did not sound during the night. The leopard was last seen in her cage when the zoo closed last night at 9 p.m.
Zoo visitor James Petronkis, 36, of Newmarket, has a different account of the morning, saying zoo officials were slow to react to Fluffy’s disappearance. He said he arrived at the zoo at 7:30, as he does every day to see the leopard. Upon noticing Fluffy’s disappearance, he spoke to the guard and was told “Mind your own business.”
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “So I pulled a fire alarm and that got their attention. They said Fluffy was inside her little house and not to worry. I waited and half an hour later I told them again. This time they checked the house, and then all hell broke loose.”
Police cars arrived within minutes, and officers shepherded visitor to the exits. The crowds of distraught parents and crying children were, not surprisingly, quite disturbed by the news.
“I want my money back, and then I’m never coming back here again,” said one man as visitors streamed out the front gate. “This place is out of control.”
“We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went,” said Gerry Durrell, the director of the zoo, at a news conference held at 9 a.m. “We are searching the grounds of the zoo but so far we haven’t a clue. She may have left the area and could be walking around Durham at this point. We just don’t know.”
Police Chief William Blair detailed the plans for the capture.
“If possible, Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer gun,” he said. “But if necessary, we will shoot to kill.”
Kitty Smith, the zoo’s chief biologist, says Fluffy is “extremely dangerous” and that the animals have been driven to the brink of extinction primarily because of their appetite for young children.
The zoo’s location makes a timely capture of the essence.
“We are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school and we don’t want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school,” said Blair. “We have got to find her before 3 p.m.”
Durham Police are being assisted in the search by New Hampshire State Police and the state wildlife department. The National Guard will be supplying five helicopters with infrared sensors as well.
“We’re gonna find this cat if it kills us,” said Blair.
According to Smith, Fluffy is a 10-year-old Romanian spotted leopard, one of only five such animals in existence, and the only female. She is black with white spots, weights 146 pounds, and can run 60 miles an hour. She was a gift to the city from Durham’s sister city in Romania.
Smith has careful instructions for those who may counter Fluffy.
“We urge anyone who encounters Fluffy to get slowly to the ground and lay still,” she said, adding that it is important to avoid eye contact. “Unless she senses fear she’s not likely to react violently.”
Despite the threat posed by the animal, zoo officials see a softer side to Fluffy.
“We love that cat, and we don’t want to lose her,” said Durrell, his eyes getting teary and his voice beginning to choke.