米ダラス動物園で相次ぐ怪事、今度はハゲワシが不審死

【ヒューストンＡＦＰ＝時事】米テキサス州のダラス動物園不可解な事件が相次いでいる。今月のウンピョウの脱走に続き、先週末にはミミヒダハゲワシが死んでいたのが分かった。絶滅危惧種であることから、警察と連邦機関が捜査に乗り出している。（写真は同動物園で飼育されていたミミヒダハゲワシの「ピン」。同園提供）
　グレッグ・ハドソン園長は２３日の会見で、園の人気者だった３５歳のミミヒダハゲワシの「ピン」について「自然死ではないと思われる」とし、「現時点では原因が内部か外部にあるのか、あらゆる選択肢を考慮に入れて調べている」と述べた。
　園は有益な情報の提供者に１万ドル（約１３０万円）の報奨金を支払うとしている。
　園では今月１３日、ウンピョウの「ノバ」が囲いから脱走。フェンスの一部は切断されていた。
　ノバはその後、園内で無事捕獲されたが、サルの囲いにも穴が開けられていたことが分かった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/01/25-12:51）

What mysterious forces are at work at the Dallas zoo?
In recent days, the largest zoo in the southern US state of Texas has been the scene of suspicious incidents, most recently the death of a beloved vulture -- and police are on the case.
Everything is under suspect at this point -- internal, external -- we're looking at every single option, zoo president Gregg Hudson told reporters Monday.
The 35-year-old endangered lappet-faced vulture named Pin was found dead over the weekend and the zoo said the death does not appear to be from natural causes.
Losing him is devastating not only to our Zoo family but also to the conservation efforts of this species, the zoo said on Twitter on Tuesday. Pin will be missed dearly by everyone.
The zoo offered a $10,000 reward for any information that helps the investigation.
On January 13, a clouded leopard, Nova, escaped from her enclosure after a section of fencing had been cut.
Nova was later discovered safe on zoo grounds, but staff found that the langur monkey enclosure had also been breached.
Because the vulture is an endangered species, the matter was deemed serious enough for federal agents to joint the investigation.
** A previous version of this story had an incorrect headline saying a panther had escaped. It was a leopard