3 Leopards Escaped A Chinese Zoo. The Zoo Didn’t Tell Anyone For Weeks.

Hangzhou Safari Park denied the escape even after surveillance video caught one of the large cats roaming a nearby residential area.

Officials at a safari park in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou have apologized after three leopards escaped late last month and no one notified the public. According to a statement by Hangzhou’s vice mayor, translated to English by NBC News, the leopards escaped on April 19. The zoo kept news of their disappearance quiet, however, citing concerns it might diminish visitors to the park during a busy holiday week. Hangzhou Safari Park saw roughly 50,000 visitors a day during that period, the South China Morning News reports. The city itself has a population of around 10 million people.