In this latest case, the dogs killed four goats and one sheep and injured several others. Zookeepers spotted the dogs early Thursday morning and found where they got in, but the dogs got away.
Workers with Little Rock Animal Services were called to the Little Rock Zoo Thursday, leaving behind a dog trap after the deadly attack.
"We're going to be very vigilant about this because we've never had an incident like this before," Zoo Director Mike Blakely said.
Blakely said around 7 a.m. Thursday, zoo staff made the rounds to the Children's Farm exhibit where they found two animals that didn't belong there.
"One was a pit-bull apparently light in color, the other one is a brown and white pit-bull terrier mix, not very big dogs," Blakely said.
The dogs got in after squeezing under an area of the zoo's perimeter fence that was being prepared to lay concrete over a drainage pipe.
The zoo is working with Little Rock Animal Services on this case. Blakely said officials there tell him that the dogs are similar to the ones that got in the Dunbar Community Garden last week, killing five animals.
"It certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility that those dogs could have traveled from that part of the city over to the zoo," Blakely said.
While that connection remains under investigation, the zoo will keep those traps on hand. Blakely says this is a tough loss for his staff.
"To have them die like this, to realize how they died, it's a very difficult thing to come to grips with," said Blakely.
The zoo is temporarily closing the Children's Farm Exhibit. Crews have also re-inspected the fence for weak spots.
(KTHV - Oct 11, 2012)
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