Tiger Contained After Escaping Enclosure At OKC Zoo

A “Code Red” was issued at the Oklahoma City Zoo after a tiger reportedly escaped from its primary enclosure Thursday afternoon.

Zoo officials said a Code Red means a dangerous animal is on the loose. 

Tara Henson, a spokesperson for the OKC Zoo, spoke with News 9 and said that no one was ever in danger. She said Zoo officials decided to issue a "Code Red" after they discovered that a tiger was not in its proper enclosure.

News 9 learned that the tiger, "Lola", had reportedly gotten out of her primary enclosure. She then became trapped between a fence and the tiger enclosure. Eventually Lola was contained and no one was injured.

Bob Mills SkyNews 9 HD flew over the scene. Pilot Jim Gardner said that the tiger has been tranquilized and carried out on a stretcher.  

The Zoo issued the following statement regarding the incident: 

"At approximately 1:38 p.m., Thursday, April 30, 2015, at the Oklahoma City Zoo, a four-year-old, female Sumatran tiger was spotted in an enclosed space between two exhibits of the Cat Forest habitat. The Zoo's emergency response team immediately responded to assess the situation. Out of an abundance of caution and because of the uncertainty of how she managed to get into the space, the staff called a “code red” to alert Zoo staff. In keeping with the Zoo's safety protocol, the public was ushered out of the Cat Forest area and Zoo-wide announcements were made to inform guests of the situation. 

The veterinary team immobilized the animal at approximately 2:02 p.m. to extricate her from the space between the exhibits and transport her to the tiger holding building. The veterinary staff is monitoring her condition and she continues to recover well from the immobilization. The emergency alert was cleared by 2:25 p.m. and the Zoo resumed normal operations."