Three of the spotted felines break free from safari park

 

Authorities were still searching on Sunday for the last of three leopards that escaped from Hangzhou Safari Park in Zhejiang province.

 

From Thursday to the weekend, a number of reports appeared on social media of the animals being sighted as they roamed local neighborhoods.

 

Many frightened residents in Fuyang district, where the safari park is located, shared footage of the leopards on Sina Weibo.

 

In one clip, one of the animals wanders through a tea plantation, while in another, what appears to be a leopard is seen prowling the streets of a residential area.

 

The animals' escape was not confirmed officially until Saturday.

 

About 8 pm on Friday, police received a report that a leopard had been found in Fuyang's Yinhu community.

 

The location is about 20 kilometers northeast of the safari park, the largest in East China, covering more than 233 hectares.

 

The authorities in Fuyang confirmed on Saturday morning that an investigation found that three young leopards had escaped from the safari park, and one of them had since been recaptured.

 

On Saturday, the park was ordered to close. Full refunds would be offered to visitors, the venue said on its WeChat account.

 

The person in charge of the park has been detained and the authorities are investigating how the leopards managed to get out.

 

The park issued a public apology on its WeChat account on Saturday afternoon for failing to promptly inform the public about the escape. It said it feared that such an announcement might trigger panic.

 

"We are deeply remorseful and will sincerely accept criticism from the public," the park said.

 

Hinting at the reason for the delayed announcement, it added that the three leopards are not that powerful.

 

Zou Jianqiang, a veterinarian from the park, told Zhejiang Daily the leopards are young, and as they have been fed with fresh chicken nuggets since infancy, it is difficult for them to survive in the wild.

 

"In addition, leopards are shy and circumspect creatures by nature. They are active mainly at night and will hide among rocks and trees while hunting for food," Zou said.

 

Residents should avoid visiting nearby mountainous areas and stay away from trees and bushes, Zou added.

 

 

Fuyang authorities said at about 5 pm on Saturday that a second leopard which escaped from the park had been tranquilized before being captured in a mountainside forest near the Yinhu community, where one of the animals was first sighted.

 

Shao Qi, a member of Wolves Rescue Team, a civil emergency organization in Fuyang, said: "About 40 of us rushed to the search area at around 10 am. We surrounded the animal with help from sniffer dogs at around 2 pm before tranquilizing it with anesthetic rifles. It was later taken back to the safari park."

 

Several sniffer dogs were bitten by the leopard during the search, Shao added.

 

More than 1,000 personnel were mobilized by Fuyang authorities on Saturday to patrol areas between mountains and villages.

 

The authorities allocated professional hunters, animal experts and emergency rescue teams, along with sniffer dogs and drones, to search areas around the safari park. The operation continued late into the night.

 

Ramunion International, another Hangzhou NGO, said it dispatched a G2 search and rescue helicopter equipped with thermal imaging cameras to patrol an area of more than 100 square kilometers in Fuyang and Xihu districts, but there was no sign of the third leopard. It said the search would continue on Sunday.

 

Footage of the leopards, which has gone viral, has revived childhood memories among netizens.

 

A China Daily reader said in a post, "The incident reminds me of the time in high school when we were required to recite New Concept English textbooks one by one at the beginning of the English class.

 

"I remember the first lesson titled 'A puma at Large', which stated: 'Pumas are large, catlike animals found in America. When reporters went to London Zoo and said a wild puma had been spotted 45 miles (72 km) south of London, they were not taken seriously.'"

 

The reader added, "This is the one piece that I still remember more than any other article in the book."

 

To prevent similar incidents, zoos and circuses throughout Zhejiang have adopted a series of measures to strengthen the security management of wild animals.

 

On Saturday, Longemont Animal World, a large safari park that is home to more than 10,000 animals in Changxing county, Huzhou city, held an emergency security meeting and launched screening measures and an investigation to eradicate potential safety loopholes.

 

The venue said it houses 36 leopards, and a check on Saturday afternoon found that these animals were accommodated in fully enclosed cages.

 

 

It is not the first time that Hangzhou Safari Park has found itself in the spotlight recently.

 

Last month, Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court made a final ruling upholding a previous judgment that the park must pay 1,038 yuan ($158) in compensation to a local resident for breach of contract after insisting on the use of facial recognition technology to gain entry following an upgrade to its admission system.

 

Guo Bing, an associate professor of law at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, filed a lawsuit against the park at Fuyang District People's Court last year over the collection and use of visitors' facial recognition details.

 

The litigation is believed to be the first in China involving facial recognition technology, which is being used increasingly nationwide.

 

After the three leopards escaped, netizens throughout the country questioned management loopholes at Hangzhou Safari Park, along with the delayed announcement about the incident, which they said could endanger public security.

 

Chen Songtao, an attorney with Zhejiang F&G Law Firm, said the incident showed there were serious management faults at the park.

 

The delayed announcement of the escape also increased the possibility of potential hazards, despite the fact that no one had been killed or injured during the incident, Chen said.

 

Xinhua News Agency said on Saturday through its Sina Weibo account that in recent years public safety incidents involving safari parks in China have been a frequent occurrence, spreading fear among the public.

 

Now that the person in charge of the park had been detained, a thorough investigation must be carried out to determine all those who should be held accountable, it said.