The Taipei Zoo yesterday said it is searching for a lesser anteater that escaped from its enclosure earlier in the week, and asked the public to notify it if they spot the animal, which is nearly 12 years old.
The lesser anteater named Blackie (黑妞) has not been seen since Monday, the zoo said, adding that 65 staff members have been searching for the animal.
At about 9am on Tuesday, zookeepers realized that Blackie was missing from her outdoor and indoor enclosures, the zoo said, adding that they examined surveillance camera footage, which showed that she entered the outdoor enclosure at about 6:15pm on Monday.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Zoo via CNA
The lesser anteater was last seen at about 6:55pm on Monday near a visitor walkway in a bromeliad garden, the zoo said.
Zookeepers have speculated that a banana tree inside the enclosure might have snapped under Blackie's weight while she was climbing, creating a bridge to an adjacent artificial rock formation, allowing her to escape.
The zoo said that its outdoor areas are designed to mimic natural habitats, encourage diverse animal behaviors and provide shade, but they can occasionally offer unexpected escape routes.
At 11 years and 10 months old, Blackie is an elderly lesser anteater, a species that has a typical lifespan of nine to 10 years in the wild, the zoo said.
Blackie is about 50cm to 60cm long, with cream-yellow fur and a prehensile tail, the zoo said, adding that she is timid and not aggressive toward humans.
Lesser anteaters are nocturnal and tend to hide in dense vegetation during the day, which is making search efforts difficult, the zoo said.
So far, the search has been focused on the zoo’s rainforest zone, nearby trails and hillsides around the giant panda exhibit, it said.
To aid the search, six automated cameras and four trap cages have been installed in the area, the zoo said.
If anyone spots Blackie they should not approach or try to capture her, but should instead notify zoo staff or call the zoo’s visitor service hotline, it said.
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