Jaguar escapes habitat at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, kills 9 animals

NEW ORLEANS -- Nine animals have now died after a jaguar escaped from its habitat at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

Zoo officials announced the ninth animal death Monday: a wounded fox named Rusty.

NOLA.com reports an alpaca and fox died Sunday, the day after the male jaguar killed four alpacas, one emu and one fox Saturday morning. The jaguar was captured and returned to its night house after being sedated by a vet team.

No people were hurt and the zoo was reopened Sunday.

The zoo acquired the alpacas in March from farms in Alabama and Mississippi. The alpaca that died overnight Sunday was the zoo's last living alpaca.

It's not immediately clear how the animal escaped. Zoo officials say inspections found that the roof was "compromised," but initial findings concluded that keeper error was not a factor.

This is not the first time a jaguar has escaped its enclosure at Audubon. In 2001, a 70-pound cub named Mulac got loose for about 10 minutes before he was brought down with a tranquilizer dart. No animals or humans were injured in that escape.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.