Minn. Zoo pretending an animal escaped today

Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Zoo

​ If you happen to see an Amur leopard saunter into your backyard this afternoon, just leave it be. It's only a drill. We're just kidding. Maybe?

 The Minnesota Zoo is conducting an animal escape drill today at 4:30 p.m. as part of National Preparedness Month. No word on how realistic this pretend "escape" will be, but we're betting they won't be letting a tiger loose just to see what happens. UPDATE: A zoo spokesperson says they unfortunately won't use a live animal for the drill. It will just be a person wearing a mask. Lame.

We're relieved to know zoo officials will be ready when some scary beast goes on a child-killing rampage in Apple Valley.

The drill will last more than an hour and include many enforcement agencies including police, state patrol, and the DNR. In other words, please don't call media organizations this afternoon flipping out about something terrible happening at the zoo. On any other day, we'd be happy to hear your tip.