This post has been updated.
Rusty, the National Zoo’s new red panda who took a leave of absence from the park sometime after 6 p.m. last evening, was spotted in Adams Morgan this afternoon. Less than an hour later, he was back in the custody of the National Zoo.
Actress Ashley Foughty photographed the little guy running near 20th and Biltmore Streets NW in Adams Morgan around 1:30 p.m. Foughty told the City Paper she called in the sighting to the National Zoo. She also reported to the City Paper that Rusty looked “normal,” “healthy” and “scared.”
Red panda in our neighborhood! 20th NW and Biltmore. Please come save him! @nationalzoo1 pic.twitter.com/llQF7P9QH5
— Ashley Foughty (@AshleyFoughty) June 24, 2013
About an hour later, City Paper intern Dan Singer and WAMU reporter Patrick Madden were on the scene as zoo workers used nets to recover Rusty from a tree near a home on the 1900 block of Biltmore NW.
We have a crate! pic.twitter.com/sAQ27ct3C5
— Dan Singer (@Dan__Singer) June 24, 2013
Rusty is about to be caught! pic.twitter.com/2zfzt3zOcx
— Patrick Madden (@Patrick_Madden) June 24, 2013
The National Zoo then shared the happy news on Twitter that Rusty had been recovered and was on his way back home.
Red Panda in custody. CNN photo by Aaron Cooper. #rusty pic.twitter.com/WAKptj8wD2
— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) June 24, 2013
