Taipei Zoo's runaway anteater finally caught after going missing

Taipei, May 26 (CNA) The Taipei Zoo finally found its elderly lesser anteater "Blackie" late Monday afternoon after it had gone missing for a week, though the animal did not seem all that eager to return to its enclosure, the zoo said in a statement Monday night.

The zoo had been searching for Blackie (黑妞) since May 19 after staff discovered from surveillance camera images that the animal had escaped its enclosure on the evening of the 18th, the zoo said.

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After nearly a week had gone by, a zoo staffer spotted Blackie leisurely crossing a road at around 5 p.m. as she drove around a service route encircling the zoo that is not open to the public.

She immediately got out of the vehicle to track the 11-year-old animal and followed it as it crossed the road and made its way to a boardwalk near the solar energy clock in front of the zoo's tropical rain-forest area, close to a section accessible to visitors.

The zoo quickly called for nearby staff to help capture the anteater. They succeeded, but not before Blackie displayed "surprising strength and vigor" as it struggled and resisted while being caught, even scratching a staff member's hand, the zoo said.

The zoo eventually transported Blackie safely to the animal hospital for examination. A preliminary check found no external injuries, but the animal was to undergo further examinations after getting some rest, according to the zoo.

During the search effort, the zoo deployed a total of 65 staff members on May 19 and 20, and more than 10 people continued patrolling surrounding areas each day after that, the zoo said.

The zoo also installed six automated cameras and four trap cages in the area, but the devices only captured footage of wild animals, including Reeves's muntjacs, crab-eating mongooses, civets and Swinhoe's pheasants, with no sign of Blackie.

The zoo thanked the Taiwan Detection Dog Association for assisting in the search. At one point, search dogs detected Blackie's scent in a hilly part of the zoo near the giant panda enclosure.