Authorities in eastern China used drones and hunting dogs to search for the last of three leopards that escaped from a safari park, which faced strong public criticism for concealing the breakout for more than two weeks.
The leopards escaped from Hangzhou Safari Park on April 19 during a handover between zookeepers due to a lapse in operating procedures, officials said at a news conference Monday.
Hangzhou Deputy Mayor Wang Hong said police received calls that leopards were spotted last Thursday and Friday but the safari park denied any had escaped.
![A worker with a sniffer dog looks on hillside in the a search for a runaway leopard. Photo / Chinatopix](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/QBIRATOQASE3ZMWPIAGE6RSRNI.jpg?auth=9e575f67353601b8ea2e96a1aab7147d6df098497b7b419050714f0b7c8a9e14&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
The safari park failed to report the escape because it feared that a public announcement would severely reduce the number of visitors to the park over China's five-day Labor Day holiday, the officials said. The park instead attempted to recover the leopards on its own, and captured one on April 21.