A jaguar escaped from its enclosure early Monday morning before the Abilene Zoo opened, which forced the zoo to euthanize a spider monkey, the Dallas Morning News reported.
According to the Morning News, Estrella, a two-year-old jaguar, was reported missing around 8:10 a.m. The zoo found Estrella on top of the adjacent exhibit which houses the spider monkeys minutes later.
During Estrella's escape, she injured Ba, a 19-year-old spider monkey. The injuries were so severe, Ba had to be euthanized by zoo veterinarians.
Estrella was then tranquilized by a dart, and placed back in a holding pen by 8:50 a.m. She was said to be recovering from the anesthesia.
The Dallas Morning News reported that this is the first incident involving Estrella since she moved to the zoo in 2016, after she was born at the Fort Worth Zoo.
Ba was acquired by the zoo after being found by federal officials when wildlife traffickers attempted to smuggle Ba over the border.
