JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Animal behavior-- that's what the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is putting an emphasis on following the escape of a jaguar at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. The Jaguar Jungle exhibit in New Orleans remains closed after a jaguar named Valerio chewed through the mesh barrier and killed nine other zoo animals. No people were hurt.
"This is almost an unprecedented situation in my career and I've been doing this for 35 years. We were sad to hear of the tragic situation," said Dan Maloney, deputy director for Animal Care and Conservation, Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens.
Before working at the Jacksonville Zoo, Maloney spent 12 years as vice president and curator of the Audobon Zoo in New Orleans. He said the jaguar there escaped through a stainless steel woven mesh -- the same material used in the Range of the Jaguar exhibit at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens. He said the mesh can't be compared though because it's size and manufacturer. He adds the enclosures are inspected daily at the Jacksonville Zoo.
"Before they let any of the animals out, they'll go and look at all those areas where the mesh is attached to those rods and they look along bottom and corners," Maloney said.
Zookeepers climb the rocks to check the top of the mesh to make sure everything is intact in the Jaguars enclosure and they are paying close attention to every detail after what happened in New Orleans.
"Right away we double-checked the things we always check anyway. The attachment points and how the mesh looks. We're extra mindful and we start to think about, God-forbid, any animal gets out how they would behave," said Maloney.
He said there have been several behavioral studies of the animals, and they use the information to strategize how to best react to different scenarios, like an animal escaping its enclosure. Emergency drills are held at least five times a year. He says they will learn from the incident at the Audobon Zoo.
"We're all going to benefit from the tragedy that happened there, but the willingness to share that information helps us all," said Maloney.
The Jacksonville Zoo also has exhibit guides stationed as safety lookouts and surveillance cameras.
You may remember that a few weeks ago, Ali the elephant, got out of his designated area and the Jacksonville Zoo was placed on a temporary lockdown. Maloney said that was due to a staff member leaving a gate open, and there was no danger to guests or other animals.
"He was contained in multiple areas of fencing, he just wasn't in his primary enclosure," Maloney said.
Ali never breached the main barrier, but he managed to eat some trees on the other side of the fence and was quickly contained.