Sequoia Park Zoo / Via Facebook: SequoiaParkZoo
The search is on for a young red panda that somehow managed to escape its enclosure at a zoo in Northern California.
The panda, Masala, is thought to have escaped the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka sometime between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Thursday. There was at least one report of a resident spotting what looked like a red panda in their neighborhood, prompting the city to issue a notice.
Gretchen Ziegler, a manager at the zoo, told the North Coast Journal that staff members were investigating how Masala could have escaped an enclosure that, before now, had never been breached.
"We have no idea how she got over the fence," she said. "It's contained red pandas since it was built. Animals can do things you can't imagine. We're going to try to figure it out."
City officials reassured residents that red pandas pose no risk to humans — however, there is concern for Masala, who knows nothing of the outside world.
"She's only been in the panda exhibit her whole life so she's pretty naive. We'll be searching all day and all night," Ziegler told the Journal.
Unlike the giant black and white bears they're associated with by name, red pandas are actually quite acrobatic and spend most of their time in trees, using their long bushy tails for balance. The are fewer than 10,000 of them in the wild, with nearly half the population claiming the Eastern Himalayas as their territory, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
An update on the search was not immediately available Friday morning as officials searched the surrounding forest for Masala. Eureka officials warned the public to refrain from trying to approach or capture the red panda and instead call (707) 499-3668 or Eureka Police dispatch at (707) 441-4044.
Here's a look at the red panda exhibit.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1X33otQ
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