A week after Sunny the red panda went missing from her Virginia Zoo habitat last week, she is still on the loose and officials don’t know where she is or how to find her.
Dozens of concerned citizens have reported seeing the 19-month-old bear-cat in the week she has been missing, and the zoo has searched countless hours for her.
“I got three calls yesterday and one person was convinced they had seen her around their apartment complex,” zoo Executive Director Greg Bockheim told The Virginian-Pilot.
Bockheim said the zoo will keep searching through the end of the week, but admitted the situation is embarrassing for the zoo. He also said it is tragic and that they are worried about Sunny.
It is unlikely the missing red panda will be found in a residential area, Bockheim said. It’s more likely that she is in one of the bamboo stands near the zoo’s grounds. Her mate Thomas is still in the enclosure, from which she disappeared sometime between 5 p.m. on January 23 and the next morning, according to local TV station WAVY.
Zoo workers also set out grapes and bamboo near the zoo grounds in hopes Sunny will come to feed.
On Sunday, a drone was used to look over the zoo grounds and nearby areas, with no success, WAVY reported.
Zoo officials advised that anyone who sees the red panda or evidence of where she might be should call the hotline at 757-222-5844, and that no one should touch, feed, or try to capture the animal.
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