Chinese wildlife park at centre of escaped leopards debacle quietly reopens after six months even though one cat is unaccounted for

Name: Three leopards escape from zoo in China, one still missing
Uploaded: 2021-11-22T10:00:18.000Z
Duration: 2 min
Description: Three leopards escape from zoo in China, one still missing

The park did not tell the public in April when three juvenile leopards escaped the park

The reopening was also quiet, with little advertising that the six-month closure was finished

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One of the viral video clips showed an escaped leopard roaming through a tea plantation. Photo: Weibo

Mandy Zuoin Shanghai

Published: 6:00pm, 22 Nov 2021Updated: 8:59pm, 22 Nov 2021

A wildlife park in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou reopened for visitors on Saturday after arousing national outrage when the random sighting of escaped leopards revealed a cover-up.

The Hangzhou Safari Park kept a low profile in its reopening, six months after it was closed, with no advertising or announcement. However, staff members said tickets have been discreetly available both offline and online.

After they escaped in April, two of the three leopards were captured in the hills near the park in Zhejiang province, but the third was not found after a month-long search. Many experts think it is likely dead because it lacked the necessary skills to survive independently.

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Three leopards escape from zoo in China, one still missing

The first cat was caught just two days after escaping the park, but it took longer to find the second one, which was finally captured on May 8.

Losing the three leopards sparked national outrage because there was a two-week lag between when the big cats escaped on April 19 and when the park announced that the animals were on the loose.

Between April 19 and the announcement in May, videos started circulating on social media, featuring clips of the leopards roaming through a tea plantation and another one showing a cat roaming the streets in a residential district.

According to a verdict released by the Fuyang District Court on Friday, three zookeepers and three managers received suspended jail sentences of between 14 and 24 months for failing to properly contain the leopards and the ensuing cover-up, which happened because the park was concerned about a drop in visitor numbers.

At the time, park operators actively denied the leopards had escaped when a reporter asked them about the cats. They only acknowledged the lie after the government got involved.

Chinese wildlife park at centre of escaped leopards debacle quietly reopens after six months even though one cat is unaccounted for

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The park did not tell the public in April when three juvenile leopards escaped the park The reopening was also quiet, with little advertising that the six-month closure was finished

The park did not tell the public in April when three juvenile leopards escaped the park

The reopening was also quiet, with little advertising that the six-month closure was finished