Endangered vulture at Dallas Zoo is found dead under ‘unusual’ circumstances
An endangered vulture at the Dallas Zoo has been found dead, a week after authorities found holes cut in a monkey habitat and a clouded leopard enclosure, leading the clouded leopard to escape.
Dallas police are investigating the death of the vulture, the zoo said in a statement on social media.
“The circumstances of the death are unusual, and the death does not appear to be from natural causes,” the zoo’s statement reads. “Given the recent incidents at the Zoo, we alerted the Dallas Police Department. We cannot share many details until Dallas PD has had more time to look into this matter.”
Police believe the enclosures for the monkeys and leopards were intentionally cut. The clouded leopard, Nova, was found on the zoo grounds and returned to its enclosure Jan. 14.
The zoo has increased security measures, such as adding more cameras and on-site security patrols overnight.
“We will continue to implement and expand our safety and security measures to whatever level necessary to keep our animals and staff safe,” the zoo said.
“The animal care team is heartbroken over this tremendous loss,” the zoo said of the vulture’s death. “Please keep them in your thoughts as they process what has happened.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2023 at 9:14 PM.