Jacksonville, Fl. — Eight animals have died after a jaguar escaped from its habitat at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and the whole event has caught the attention of Dan Maloney, Deputy Director of Animal Care and Conservation at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
"I think we're all standing up and taking notice," Maloney tells WOKV.
A little background, Maloney was the General Curator at the exact zoo for 10 years but worked at the zoo for 12 years. He was there when the Audubon Zoo opened the Jaguar Jungle exhibit and helped designed it which is why he says this event has a big impact on him. He has since reached out to the zoo and offered his support.
Maloney says the similarities between the Range of the Jaguar JZG and Jaguar Jungle is that they both have woven mesh areas. While it’s not exactly clear how the Jaguar in New Orleans escaped, Maloney says JZG has been keeping a cautious eye on the Jaguars’ habitat.
"We have never seen any inclination for our Jaguars to look at the mesh."
Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens will be looking at the connection points with its mesh to make sure that it is sound and there is no degrading or rusting. Another thing Maloney points out is that the zoo has cameras all over the exhibit to monitor animal behavior.
"We never have detected the Jaguars working on the mesh at all, starting to bite at it or doing any of those kind of things."