A one-year-old cheetah in the St. Louis Zoo escaped from its exhibit Monday, stumping zoo officials the day after as to how it was able to do so.

According to zoo staff, the cheetah must have managed to go over a wall at least 10 foot in height, before arriving at a rocky area that served as a separator between people and animals at the River's Edge exhibit.

Jack Grisham, vice president of the zoo's animal collection, expressed his confusion as to how the cub managed to scale the wall.

"We have no idea how the cat got up there," the Associated Press quoted Grisham . "We have a million theories. It could have been the cats playing with one another and it made the lucky jump - or unlucky jump."

Grisham told the AP that the situation began when a visitor notified a zoo worker of the cheetah's escape. Upon discovery of the cheetah's escape the area was quickly evacuated.

The cheetah was reported to have not made any violent moves as veterinarians were attempting to capture and tranquilize it.

Despite this, Grisham said, "any wild animal could be a danger to the public...These animals are not pets."

The vets were able to tranquilize the cheetah 27 minutes after, as it was found 30 feet away from the exhibit, said the United Press International.

Grisham gave the assurance that the exhibit was completely safe, and that "this is one of those freak things that happens."

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums spokesman Steve Feldman agreed with Grisham's claim, and gave the assurance that the zoo will report the incident to the association. Afterwards, it will be determined whether or not any changes are needed to assure no repeats of the cheetah escape.