Cheetah flees habitat, triggering emergency protocols at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska) – A cheetah took a walk outside its habitat at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha on Tuesday afternoon.

Zoo officials say it happened around 3.40am when they were notified of a cheetah outside its enclosure.

The fugitive in question was none other than Gretchen, the 5-year-old, 60-pound cheetah who lived on Scott’s African grasslands.

Even though Gretchen was in a place where she shouldn’t be, she was still behind the public barrier.

Regardless, emergency protocols went into effect. Entry points to the zoo were closed and guests and staff were taken to safe areas.

Zoo staff kept a close eye on Gretchen throughout the entire escape. They say that at one point she even lay down.

An animal care team responded and they were able to get the cheetah back to his nocturnal quarters without any problems.

Zoo officials are now working to figure out how Gretchen managed to escape her habitat.

The zoo says it has protocols in place for such events and a review of the incident is underway to ensure the safety of guests and animals in the future.

Categories: Nebraska News, News Tags: barrier, cheetah, emergency, enclosure, five year old, Gretchen, guests, habitat, accident, night, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, protocols, public, quarters, safety, scott african grasslands, safe , staff, zoo officials

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