Hunt for last of 3 escaped leopards continues

The Fuyang district's public security bureau in Hangzhou arrested five suspects it said were involved in a case of three escaped leopards on Monday, including Zhang Dequan, general manager of Hangzhou Safari Park.

From Saturday to Monday, more than 4,000 personnel were mobilized by Hangzhou authorities to patrol areas between mountains and villages to find the animals. One was captured on Saturday, a second was captured earlier and one remained at large. Temperatures in Hangzhou on Monday rose to as high as 34 C.

Authorities enlisted the help of 270 professional hunters, animal experts and emergency rescue teams, along with 37 sniffer dogs and more than 70 drones, to search areas around the safari park.

The third leopard would have a hard time surviving in the wild, and so it probably didn't run far because it would be hungry after several days, a rescue team member said.

In another development, authorities corrected a rumor that an injury to one of the rear paws of the leopard caught on Saturday was received during the hunting process. They reported that the animal has awakened from tranquilization and is "in good shape".

Cai Jingwen contributed to this story.