A Chinese zoo has been criticised for failing to tell authorities and the public three of its leopards had escaped over a week ago and two were still on the loose.
The leopards went missing from Hangzhou Safari Park in Hangzhou, China on April 19 during a handover between zookeepers, 7News reported.
The city's deputy mayor Wang Hong said police had received calls about leopard sightings in the area, but the safari park denied any had escaped.
Instead, the park attempted to capture the leopards privately and was able to retrieve one on April 21.
Over a week after they went missing, the park finally issued a statement on the leopard's escape, saying they didn't report it sooner as they didn't want to lose visitors over a recent holiday break.
"We are deeply sorry for delaying the announcement. We thought juvenile leopards are weak and will not pose a great danger, so we decided not to announce their escape to avoid causing public panic," the park said, BBC reported.
On May 8, the local government confirmed on Chinese social media website Weibo that another leopard had been recaptured, but one still remains at large.
A search team is currently trying to find the animal, using hunting dogs and drones.
Officials urged people to remain indoors as much as possible while they attempted to recover the last leopard.
