WASHINGTON, July 14 (Xinhua) -- A three-year-old male jaguar that escaped captivity Saturday morning from a zoo in New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana had killed six animals before being sedated.
The jaguar, Valerio, escaped its habitat at about 7:20 a.m. local time (1320 GMT) when the Audubon Zoo was closed to the public, according to a press release from the zoo.
The situation was resolved by 8:15 a.m.(1415 GMT) when the jaguar was sedated by the vet team.
"Veterinarians had to prepare tranquilizers and position themselves to get a good line of sight," said the release. "Once darted, the jaguar was sedated within minutes."
There were no human injuries, but four alpaca, one emu and one fox in nearby habitats were attacked by the jaguar and died, said the zoo.
Three other animals, one alpaca and two foxes, were injured and expected to survive.
The zoo is investigating the incident. From its initial inspection, it appeared the roof of the habitat was compromised.
Audubon Zoo is home to two jaguars. The female, Ix Chel, was safe in a separate indoor habitat during the incident.
Valerio was born in March 2015 at San Diego Zoo and was moved to Audubon Zoo in October 2017.
The zoo said the jaguar habitat will be closed on Sunday, but the rest of the facility will reopen.
