MANITOWOC, Wis. — Two cougars freed from a zoo by vandals were captured Thursday without injuring anyone, the city’s mayor said.
Vandals cut a chain-link fence overnight at the Lincoln Park Zoo to free the two animals from their habitat. Both were found inside the zoo’s outside fence, tranquilized and returned to their cages.
Mayor Kevin Crawford said he didn’t know whether the vandals were influenced by Tuesday’s tiger escape at the San Francisco Zoo. Police are seeking the vandals, he said.
“These animals can’t survive in the wild,” he said. “They are raised for the purpose of education. People who think they are releasing these animals as a service to the animals are just wrong.”
A zookeeper noticed cougar footprints in the snow and discovered the animals’ escape between 7 and 8 a.m., Crawford said. The zookeeper immediately locked the front gates and called authorities.
The cougars have been domesticated and expect their food to be brought to them, Crawford said. But they still have killer instincts and could have threatened area residents had they escaped the zoo’s perimeter fence, officials said.
Also Thursday, authorities said a sanitation crew found a tiger shot to death near Dallas. It was declawed and had a collar around its neck, so officials believe it was someone’s illegal pet.
