- Grey Wolf escapes from AZA, Cleveland Zoo

Published by -NAWA News Feed- in - AZA Incidents and News - · Thursday 08 Sep 2022

A wolf escaped its habitat at the Cleveland Zoo, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, but was recaptured, and no guests or employees were hurt, authorities said.

Officials at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo said the female Mexican gray wolf "briefly breached its habitat" at about 10:20 a.m. Monday.

Jacqueline Gerling, director of communications at Cleveland Metroparks, said the wolf "was able to access the guest path" for about five minutes. Gerling said staff "acted quickly to establish a perimeter around the wolf" and the animal was secured by the animal care team and reunited with the other wolves.

Gerling said the zoo has five of the wolves and the other members of the pack were secured in an off-exhibit holding area at the time. She said the zoo "takes these incidents very seriously, training for these types of scenarios on a regular basis."

Gerling said officials are still gathering details on how the animal was able to escape.