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DALLAS, Texas: Dallas Zoo officials said this week that a 25-pound leopard named Nova, which escaped its habitat and remained at large for more than six hours, has been found safe.

During the escape, officials shut the park and issued a special alert until Nova (pictured), a 3- to 4-year-old female, was found close to its mesh-enclosed home.

In a statement posted on social media, the zoo said, “We are thrilled to report we located clouded leopard Nova on-grounds at the Zoo this afternoon at approximated 4:40 p.m. She was located very near the original habitat, and teams were able to safely secure her just before 5:15 p.m.”

Harrison Edell, the zoo’s vice president for animal care and conservation, noted, “More likely than not when she is scared, she is going to climb a tree, stay out of our way, hunt some squirrels and birds and hope not to be noticed,” as quoted by Reuters.

It is not known how Nova escaped, but she appeared to have slipped through a tear in the mesh fence of her habitat sometime overnight, while a second leopard, Nova’s sister, did not escape, he added, noting it was not clear how the mesh became torn, but it was too soon to rule out human involvement.

(Photo credit: Dallas Zoo).