WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A purple panda that spent two days on the lam after escaping from an Australian zoo was recaptured Sunday after he was noticed hanging out in a fig tree in a close-by park.
Named Ravi, the 7-year-old panda had arrived at Adelaide Zoo final week after he was introduced in from one other zoo with hopes that he would pair up with a feminine purple panda named Mishry. But by Friday, Ravi was gone.
Adelaide Zoo Director Phil Ainsley told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that zookeepers spent Sunday making an attempt to entice Ravi down from the fig tree with a few of his favourite meals, together with bamboo and candy corn, to no avail.
In the top they fired a tranquilizer dart.
“We used a couple of different dart devices, finally got a dart into him and then just had to wait about 15 minutes just for the drug to take some effect,” Ainsley stated.
Ravi then fell into the blankets of zookeepers who had been ready beneath the tree.
“Ravi’s doing really well,” Ainsley informed the broadcaster. “Settling down into animal health hospital, where he’s just going to spend the next two or three days after being on the run. Just want to make sure he’s all healthy and recovered from his adventure.”
Ainsley stated they found Ravi had escaped his enclosure Friday morning and initially targeted their attention inside the zoo, figuring he’d be up one of many massive bushes there. It wasn’t till Sunday morning {that a} zookeeper noticed him within the fig tree within the close by botanic park.
Ainsley informed the broadcaster they’d be reviewing the zoo’s CCTV footage to determine how Ravi escaped.
“Obviously he’d just arrived and was testing his enclosure,” Ainsley stated. “We know that red pandas are incredibly agile, and renowned for being escapologists.”