NEW ORLEANS (AP) - An Audubon Zoo official says the jaguar that killed nine other animals during a weekend escape is believed to have bitten through a steel-cable barrier that forms the roof of its habitat.

Kyle Burks of the Audubon Zoo told reporters Tuesday that the jaguar apparently slipped through the resulting small gap in the barrier.

No people were hurt. The animal was tranquilized and safely removed less than an hour after an employee discovered it was out early Saturday, before the zoo's opening time.

But Burks says officials don't know how long it roamed free. He also said it's "conceivable" the cat might have been able to breach an outer perimeter and escape the zoo. But he stressed that the staff was trained to prevent such an occurrence.