Smithsonian’s National Zoo – The National Zoo is looking for Rusty, a red panda last seen about 6 p.m. Sunday.
A male red panda has turned up missing at the Smithsonian National Zoo, a spokeswoman said Monday, and zoo officials have been combing the grounds searching for him.
Rusty, who is less than a year old and is about the size of a raccoon, was not seen in his enclosure at 7:30 a.m. Monday, and the zoo sounded a “Code Green” alert for an escaped animal at 8 a.m.
The zoo gates were closed temporarily as the search began, but were reopened at 9:45 a.m., after the animal wasn’t found, said spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson.
“We have been searching all morning,” she said. “It is most likely that he has not really left the vicinity. He would have to have some very strong motivation to leave the area.”
Red panda’s have thick reddish fur, long tails ringed with white circles, and very long whiskers. They like to climb trees. Like their huge cousins, the Giant Pandas, they are native to China.
The zoo’s giant pandas are safe and “inside slumbering,” Baker-Masson said.
The zoo asked that if visitors spot Rusty they should not approach him, but tell an official or call the zoo at 202-633-4888.
By Michael E. Ruane
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