Fluffy, the ten year old Romanian spotted leopard belonging to the Durham Zoo escaped sometime during 9:00pm and 7:30AM Tuesday night and is still at large.

James Petronkis, 36, of 34 West St in Newmarket NH was the first to notice the missing wildcat. "I knew something was wrong right away." Said Petronkis, adding that he loved Fluffy and visited her daily at 7:30am.

Petronkis noticed that the area where the leopard slept was vacant, where normally there was a nest of straw. "...there was no nest" he said, "there wasn't even any straw."

Petronkis told the zoo security, who he claims ignored his initial warning, but eventually discovered that he was telling the truth.

Police chief William Blair released an early statement; "Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer gun. But if necessary we will shoot to kill." He added, "We're gonna find this cat if it kills us".

Kitty Smith, the zoo's chief biologist, warned anyone who encounters the escaped cat to "get slowly to the ground and lay still." The cat, she says, may do a lot of sniffing and licking but will not likely attack unless she senses fear. "Be especially careful", she said, "to avoid eye contact."

Fluffy is black with white spots, weighs 146 pounds, and can run a top speed of 60 miles per hour. She was to be flown to China next month to mate with a male spotted leopard owned by the Chinese government. Fluffy is one of only five known spotted leopards in existence.

Fluffy is extremely dangerous, and should not be approached.