Ollie, a 25-pound female bobcat at the National Zoo, escaped Monday morning from her enclosure at the Washington, D.C., attraction.
The bobcat was last seen around 7:30 a.m., the National Zoo said, but she was not in her enclosure by her breakfast time at 10:40 a.m. It is not known how Ollie escaped.
Zoo officials have closed the area around the bobcat exhibit in case Ollie is hiding nearby. Bobcats are likely to hide if people are in the area.
Zoo officials are trying to lure Ollie back to the enclosure and feel she may return to familiar food and shelter at some point, but know it may be very difficult to find her if she doesn't return.
"Even though no one in recent memory has seen a bobcat in Washington D.C.,” the cat is native to the area, the National Zoo's Associate Director for Animal Care and Sciences Brandie Smith told The Washington Post. “This is part of their historical range. ... This area is bobcat territory.”
Although bobcats are not typically a threat to people, they will attack dogs and cats as well as mice, squirrels, rabbits and small deer. They are fast runners, good climbers, and can jump up to grab birds out of the air, the Post said.
It didn't take long
On Twitter, the story of Ollie’s disappearance quickly turned political.
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