COLUMBUS,
Ohio (AP) — A spotted leopard that was among six
creatures kept at an Ohio zoo after an exotic animal escape was
euthanized after it was hit by a lowering door between two
enclosures and suffered a severe spinal cord injury, officials said
Monday.

The male leopard had been cared for at the Columbus zoo under a
state-issued quarantine order along with two other
leopards, two primates and a bear. Their owner committed
suicide in October after releasing dozens of tigers, bears and
other animals that were subsequently killed by authorities near
Zanesville.

A keeper was moving the leopard between enclosures Sunday
morning for routine feeding and cleaning when the animal
unexpectedly reversed course as a door was being lowered, and
it was struck on the neck, the zoo and the Ohio Department of
Agriculture said. A zoo veterinarian tried to use chest
compressions to restart the unresponsive animal's heart.

The state veterinarian was on-site and decided to euthanize the
cat after further examination revealed its spinal cord had been
irreversibly damaged and it could not breathe on its own,
officials said.

An attorney for the owner's widow, Marian Thompson, said Monday he was
withholding comment until they learn more about what happened.
Thompson has appealed the quarantine order and requested a
hearing on the matter, but no date has been set.

Thompson sought to reclaim the surviving animals in late
October, but the Department of Agriculture ordered they
be kept in quarantine. Ohio law allows the agriculture director
to quarantine animals while investigating reports of
potentially dangerous diseases.

Officials said they were concerned about reports that the
animals lived in unsanitary conditions where they could be
exposed to disease. The order prevents the zoo from releasing
the animals until it's clear they're free of dangerous
diseases, and it sets no deadline for medical testing to
confirm that.

The state said the leopard that was euthanized had a congenital
defect that weakened its spine and might have affected the
severity of its injury. Radiographs before and after death
showed malformed vertebrae in its neck, and the leopard also
had old injuries that didn't properly heal, including broken
back and tail bones, officials said.

A necropsy was performed, but the results were expected to take
weeks.

The Department of Agriculture would dispose of the leopard's
remains for biological safety reasons, spokeswoman Erica
Pitchford said.

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Ohio euthanizes leopard kept after exotics escape

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