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Captured leopard dies after accident at zoo

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By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau Updated 8:01 AM Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A male spotted leopard from the Thompson farm in Zanesville was euthanized Sunday after breaking his neck at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where it was being held.

The leopard was one of six animals captured and taken to the zoo after Terry Thompson released 56 exotic animals from their cages on his land in Zanesville on Oct. 18.

A zookeeper was moving the animal between enclosures when the leopard darted back just as a door was being lowered, hitting him in the neck, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

A zoo veterinarian tried unsuccessfully to revive the cat and X-rays showed it had an irreversible spinal cord injury.

State officials said X-rays showed the leopard had a malformed vertebrae that could have compounded the severity of the injury and had old, improperly healed injuries, including broken bones in his back and tail.

A necropsy will be performed by the state’s Animal Disease and Diagnostic Laboratory.

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