What Size Is a Clouded Leopard? Animal Missing From Dallas Zoo

The Dallas Zoo is encountering a "serious situation" when zoo staff realized a clouded leopard wasn't in its enclosed environment late Friday morning.

The zoo is currently working with Dallas police in response to a "code blue," which translates to a "non-dangerous animal" being out of its cage. The zoo said it expects the leopard is still on zoo grounds and is likely hiding. It announced the situation in a tweet Friday morning and has closed its doors until the leopard is found.

"We have an ongoing situation at the Zoo right now with a Code Blue – that is a non-dangerous animal that is out of its habitat," Dallas Zoo tweeted Friday morning. "One of our clouded leopards was not in its habitat when the team arrived this morning and is unaccounted for at this time."

Clouded leopards are a vulnerable species found in Nepal, Bangladesh and eastern India. They also have been found in the Himalayan mountains, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo's website. The wild cats can weigh between 25 and 51 pounds and their body length can reach up to 35 inches, not including their tail. The leopard's tail can sometimes be as long as its body and is used to balance as the cat moves in the trees. The lithe cat can even climb down trees headfirst.

Dallas news station WFAA reported that the missing clouded leopard is a female named Nova.

The National Zoo describes clouded leopards as bridging the gap between small and large wild cats. They possess long canine teeth and stalk their prey, usually gibbons, macaques, small deer and wild boar, from the trees. Clouded leopards also hunt on the ground.

"Although a relatively small predator, a clouded leopard can take down sizeable prey because of its strong legs, large canines and extreme gape (ability to open mouth to about 100 degrees)," the National Zoo said about the cat.

The National Zoo said it feeds its clouded leopards separately to avoid aggression but did not mention if the species typically act aggressively toward humans.

It is unknown how the Dallas Zoo leopard escaped its enclosure or why it is classified as "non-dangerous." Newsweek reached out to the Dallas Zoo for comment.

It's not the first time an animal at the Dallas Zoo has escaped its enclosure. In February 2021, a pied crow from the zoo's animal ambassador team flew away during a training session, CBS News reported at the time. The pied crow, which resembled a black crow but with white coloring on its chest, was very friendly.

WFAA reported on other incidents where an animal was missing from the zoo's enclosures, mostly primates. In 2004, a gorilla escaped and injured three people before being shot to death by Dallas police. Six years later in 2010, another gorilla escaped but was returned to her cage, leading to a zookeeper's suspension.

In 2011, a chimpanzee escaped its enclosure and was classified as a "code red," meaning a dangerous animal was out of its cage. The chimpanzee was returned to her cage with no injuries. The same year, a spider monkey escaped its cage before being tranquilized and returned.