China: Leopard on the loose after zoo escape

Beijing - The safari park only reported the missing leopards and alerted the public on Saturday.

A search for the last of three leopards that escaped from a safari park in eastern China was ongoing, authorities said Monday, as the park came under fire for concealing the breakout for nearly a week.

The three leopards from the Hangzhou Safari Park were spotted by villagers as early as May 1, according to the state-owned Global Times newspaper. However, the safari park only reported the missing leopards and alerted the public on Saturday.

Two of the leopards have already been captured, and are in good health, officials said. It is unclear how the leopards managed to escape.

Efforts to capture the last leopard were ongoing as of Sunday night, according to a statement posted Monday by the Hangzhou local government on its official WeChat account.

Those searching for the animal were using equipment such as drones as well as hunting dogs.

The leopard was spotted by a drone early Sunday, but fled when people attempted to approach it, according to the Global Times.