There was never any danger, said Dr. Jeremy Goodman, director of the county’s Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange. But for about five minutes today, right after the zoo’s 11 a.m. opening, a Code Red was called when a leopard called Megan briefly made her way out of sight of her handlers. Goodman says that, as it turns out, Megan was always in a secured enclosure, and that zoo-goers were safe throughout. But while visual contact was lost, they had to proceed as if the leopard was on the loose.
The leopard habitat is now empty and Megan is in the on-site animal hospital, but Goodman said she was not acting strange. “Just her typical leopard self,” he said.
County Executive Joe DiVincenzo was informed immediately. He was soon on the scene, wearing shorts and flip flops, shaking hands with the zoo mascot and reassuring the press that everything was under control.
“I’m very proud of our staff and how they handled this crisis,” he said. “Safety came first.”
Goodman said that zoo patrons were informed of what was going on while they were herded, quickly, inside buildings. “Customers were very orderly. Nobody panicked,” he told Baristanet. “Everybody was moved quietly, calmly into safe areas and there never was any panic.”
About an hour after the incident, the park was packed with families enjoying the beautiful weather. Except for a few shaken staffers talking to each other about the incident in hushed tones and the occasional news interview withe county executive, it looked like any other day at the zoo.
Joe DiVincenzo:
Jeremy Goodman:
Someone told me it’s all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it. I do believe it’s true.
Great campaign photo for Joey D.