By James Carlson
Meanwhile, Joe Kamer, the zoo's acting veterinarian, arrived near the Pallas cat exhibit where Johnson the bobcat was lounging.Thursday marks the second time city officials are examining zoo security since August."He found a little friend over there," Kamer said. "They were buds there for a while."The 26-pound bobcat named Johnson was discovered missing around 6:30 a.m. and was captured about four hours later. He was uninjured.Funding such a position, however, may be difficult as the city is considering whether to eliminate at least 60 jobs in an effort to close a $4 million shortfall.At that time, someone cut a chain on an exterior gate near the Gage Shelter House, walked to the bobcat exhibit and broke the lock hasp, releasing the animal.Kamer said the elephants had thrown around the wagon that was tossed into their holding area.New technology is available but is costly, he said, and ultimately the extent of security at the zoo will be determined by dollars and cents and how much money the city has to spend on it.Asked about any connection between the August break-in and Thursday's, Bevens said: "There are some similarities between the two crimes, so that's something to be considered. We're treating it as a burglary and processing the crime scene."By 9:40 a.m., the zoo was open and the children walked through the grounds.Zoo workers rushed the animal into a carrier and toward the animal hospital on the grounds.The second shot pierced a rear leg, and the cat went down.Officials say someone cut a hole in the chain-link fence around the zoo grounds, made their way to the bobcat exhibit and broke two lock hasps to release the cat.Topeka police Capt. Darin Scott said officers make "a lot of patrols" in Gage Park, including at night, and routinely check the perimeter of the zoo while making their rounds.About 40 minutes later, one of 30 searchers from the police, animal control and zoo spotted the bobcat about 30 yards from his pen in an exhibit area near the Tropical Rain Forest.Lying on the grass with a dart gun's long barrel balanced between the planks of a wooden fence, Kamer shot once toward the bobcat about 15 feet away and landed a glancing blow.Bevens said the city is discussing security options but didn't want to divulge details so as not to tip off vandals.Then-director Mike Coker said he was considering adding surveillance and changing locks and security systems.Scott suggested the best option may be to have a security person walk the grounds at night.City officials are again pledging to review security at the Topeka Zoo after the facility was broken into early Thursday and a bobcat was released for the second time in nine months."You can always do more," city spokesman David Bevens said of precautions at the zoo. "To what degree we do more, we will discuss that."James Carlson can be reached at (785) 295-1186 or james.carlson@cjonline.com and tweets at twitter.com/carlson_james.Unconscious, the bobcat was examined and given a routine checkup. Johnson was back in his cage by 12:30 p.m., Kamer said.The vandal or vandals also cut a hole in fencing around the arctic fox exhibit and threw a plastic wagon in the elephant exhibit. The fox didn't escape.Bevens described the bobcat as "domesticated, docile and declawed" and said the children were herded out of the zoo after finding the cat again.Not all parts were recovered, he said, and he worried what digesting some of the pieces could do.The zoo was closed in the early stages of the search Thursday morning, and a group of preschool students from the Head Start program and the adults with them initially were told they wouldn't be able to tour the zoo because of the loose cat.The Capital-JournalA vandal or vandals entered the zoo Thursday about 20 feet north of the Gage Shelter House, this time cutting a hole in the fence down from the gate.The Capital-Journal's Thad Allton, Phil Anderson and Steve Fry contributed to this report.
James Carlson can be reached at (785) 295-1186 or james.carlson@cjonline.com and tweets at twitter.com/carlson_james.
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