MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) -- The case of two cougars freed from Manitowoc's Lincoln Park Zoo has authorities on the hunt -- not for the cougars but for the vandals who released them.

The cats were found on the grounds of the zoo, tranquilized and returned unharmed to their enclosures yesterday.

The vandals cut some chain-link fencing to free the two animals from their habitat.

Police say slogans written on cars parked at the Manitowoc zoo referred to freeing the animals, but no group has taken responsibility for the vandalism.

Acting Police Chief Tony Dick says there's also no indication the crime was in response to the Tuesday incident at the San Francisco Zoo. In that case, a tiger escaped from its enclosure, killed one person and critically injured two others before being shot to death.