BHUBANESWAR, India, June 1 (UPI) -- A tiger was on the loose in India's Odisha state Saturday, the day after it scaled an 18-foot-high fence to escape from a zoo, officials said.
The 6-year-old male tiger, which had been at the Nandankanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar since April 28, got out Friday night after being moved to an enclosure from the tiger safari, J.D. Sharma, the principal chief conservator of forest wildlife, told the Press Trust of India.
"The tiger escaped from the enclosure after jumping over the 18-feet-high wire fencing," Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray said. "His pug marks are clearly visible on the walls of the enclosure
Routray said the big cat ran off into a nearby forest.
"We are sure to locate the tiger soon. It is not a man-eater or has ever attacked a domestic animal while coming to the Nandankan Zoo on its own," he said.
Zoo officials closed the tiger safari indefinitely as a result of the escape.
