Red Panda Goes Walkabout at Woodland Park Zoo

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: October 21, 2021 2:30 pm

Zan, a male red panda at Woodland Park Zoo, was reported outside of his exhibit this morning. He was safely secured several hours later.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo

Keepers at the Woodland Park Zoo have succeeded in recapturing a red panda which managed to escape its enclosure yesterday morning. At approximately 9.40am on October 20th 2021 Zan the red panda was located in a tree within the nearby crane enclosure.

Investigations are ongoing in to how he was able to leave the exhibit area.

Soon after the sighting teams from animal care and security were quickly to establish a perimeter and move nearby animals in to their enclosures.

Safe from any danger and posing no threat to the public keepers worked through the day to lure Zan to the ground. Around 3pm he was tempted down for a snack of his favorite treats including apples and grapes.

Keepers were able to return him to his indoor den where he will remain while an assessment of his outdoor enclosure is completed to ensure he is unable to escape again. Staff will also monitor Zan to ensure he was not injured during his time outside of the exhibit.

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“We’re so grateful that Zan is safe and proud of the animal keepers for being observant and responsive. They care deeply for their animals and know them so well that they knew exactly what to do to bring him back down safely,” said Sheri Horiszny, Chief Operations Officer at Woodland Park Zoo. “As a precaution, we will immediately do more pruning.”

This is the second such incident at the zoo in recent years. In 2018 a pair of twin red pandas born at the zoo were found outside the habitat area after a branch in their enclosure broke and fell outside of the habitat perimeter.

Woodland Park Zoo’s park-like setting is teeming with trees and foliage. “The zoo’s beautiful forest-like setting provides wonderful opportunities for our animals to use their natural skills to climb and explore, and truly allows them to thrive. We continuously balance providing these climbing opportunities with necessary pruning to keep animals and trees safe and healthy,” added Horiszny.

Zan was born at Woodland Park Zoo in 2020. He has a sister who moved to another zoo a couple of months ago.

Learn more about Red Pandas here – Red Panda Fact File | The Animal Facts

Learn more about the Woodland Park Zoo on their website – Woodland Park Zoo