Bamboo connoisseur. Professional napper. Master charmer. Now, a red panda at the San Diego zoo can add escape artist to its resume.
Officials for the zoo said a female red panda escaped from her enclosure at the Zoo's Panda Canyon Sunday by climbing into a tree next to her habitat.
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Video from zoo guest Allison Fortson showed the red panda high in a tree with buckets from the Skyfari aerial tram system passing overhead. The SkyFari transit line is just north of the red panda enclosure, so it does not appear the tree-climber strayed too far.
Once the zoo was aware the panda was out of the enclosure, officials closed off parts of the park surrounding the tree she scaled, and recalled the panda back into her habitat.
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While the zoo did not name the suspect, an Instagram post about two months ago said a female named Adira was recently paired with their male, Lucas, as part of red panda breeding plan.
(January is the start of the panda's breeding season, which one could speculate may have been the reason for the jailbreak, although an Instagram comment from the zoo about the pair's progress a week ago said, "They're doing great! Interacting more and more each day.")
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Red pandas may look cute and cuddly but don't let all that cinnamon fluff fool you. Red pandas are remarkably agile and adept at climbing. It's really no surprise she was able to escape.
A red panda infamously escaped from the National Zoo in 2013 and wandered around a neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
Red pandas use their long, ringed tails for balance and sharp claws for gripping. They can be difficult to spot in their bamboo habitats because their crimson fur can blend in with red moss on the trees, according to the zoo.
The escapee did so during the one-third of her day when they're typically active. Otherwise, red pandas are usually stretched out on a tree branch or curled up in a hollow napping, the zoo said.
the species native to the Himalayas is listed as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund. The agency estimates there are less than 10,000 in the world.
Red pandas have gained popularity in recent years, even becoming the transformation animal of a main character in the Disney Pixar animated comedy, "Turning Red," which is nominated for an Acadamy Award for Best Animated Feature this year.
