GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – A federal inspection report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals how an adult female Amur leopard escaped her enclosure at the Greenville Zoo over the summer.
On July 23, 4-year-old Irina got loose from her exhibit before the zoo opened to the public, initiating an emergency response and a temporary lockdown of the surrounding area in Cleveland Park.
According to the USDA inspection report, a zookeeper had been cleaning inside the leopard’s outdoor habitat with the keeper service door left open while Irina and her two cubs were secured in their holding dens.
Investigators determined that before finishing cleaning duties, the keeper intended to shift Irina into another stall inside the holding building, but accidentally opened the wrong shift door. This gave the leopard direct access to the outdoor habitat, where she escaped through the open service door…