Jack Hanna, second from right, opens a hatch to release three of 14 bighorn sheep into the Santa Catalina mountains near Pima Canyon in Tucson, Ariz., in this Nov. 20, 2014, photo. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Mike Christy)LOS ANGELES - A bighorn sheep escaped from the Los Angeles Zoo on Saturday and was struck by a hit-and-run driver before it could be corralled, police said.
The sheep was hit in the Los Feliz section of the city near the entrance to Griffith Park, Lt. Richard Parks said.
It was not immediately clear what condition the animal was in, but security personnel had secured it.
Zookeepers, park rangers and a police helicopter joined the search after the animal escaped around 1:20 p.m. It wasn't clear if they had spotted the sheep before it was struck.
"I'm not sure they knew how it escaped," Parks said.
The animal appeared to have traversed the Santa Monica Mountains from the area in the park where the zoo is located.
The driver of the car fled after the collision, Parks said.
A zoo spokeswoman didn't immediately return a call seeking information.