Clouded leopard located and 'safely secured' after it escaped from a Dallas zoo

• The Dallas Zoo closed Friday morning after one of its clouded leopards went missing.
• Zoo officials issued a "code blue" for a "non-dangerous animal that is out of its habitat," according to the zoo's Facebook page.

The Dallas Zoo closed Friday morning after one of its adorable feline predators — a clouded leopard named Nova — went missing, according to the zoo's Facebook page and local news reports.

The zoo called it "a serious situation" and later issued a "code blue" for a "non-dangerous animal that is out of its habitat." By Friday night the animal was located in the zoo itself and safely returned to its pen.

The saga began when zoo officials arrived Friday morning to find that one of their clouded leopards was nowhere to be found. That prompted an hours-long search, which included the assistance of local police.

At a press conference, Sgt. Warren Mitchell of the Dallas Police Department a criminal investigation had been opened into the incident, with authorities believing that a tear discovered in the clouded leopard's habitat was the result of an "intentional act," Blake Hanson, a reporter with local Fox affiliate KDFW, reported Friday afternoon.

—Dallas Zoo (@DallasZoo) January 13, 2023

The Dallas Zoo released a video highlighting its two clouded leopards, sisters Nova and Luna, last year. In the video, the zoo's associate curator of mammals explains the cat sisters were born at the Houston zoo and like to climb and eat ground meat and bones.

Zoo staff described Nova as more "aloof" than her sister. She is the one that went missing, according to the zoo.

Clouded leopards are known for being "one of the most ancient cat species," according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.

The leopards typically live in forest habitats, feature a smaller stature, and have large paws for gripping branches. They are not considered to be either a great cat or small cat species because they can't roar or purr, according to the Smithsonian.

It is one of the only two cat species that can climb down trees headfirst, the Smithsonian says. The leopards are also known for their long canine teeth and ability to open their mouths to 100-degree angles, which allow them to hunt prey such as gibbons, small deer, and wild boars.