After spending last night in the National Zoo’s veterinary hospital and undergoing a full examination today, female bobcat Ollie “appears to be in good health,” according to zoo officials.
The 25-pound bobcat escaped her enclosure earlier this week and was found yesterday with a cut on her left, front paw. Vets treated the wound with two small dissolvable stitches, zoo officials said in a release.
While in medical care, Ollie also received a series of vaccines, including a rabies booster, among other treatments.
Zoo officials say Ollie likely escaped Monday morning through a 5-inch opening in the mesh net around her habitat, which she normally shares with two male bobcats. For days, zookeepers and District residents scoured the zoo’s property and nearby neighborhoods for the missing feline.
And yesterday afternoon, zoo officials announced the end of the active search. But not long after, someone spotted Ollie near a bird exhibit, and officials quickly laid out traps for her. “Literally within fifteen minutes, the bird house keepers called us back and told us we have a bobcat in the trap,” said Craig Saffoe, the curator of great cats, adding that zoo officials were “over the moon” about her return.
“I think she wanted to go out have a little bit of fun, see what it was like on the outside—then was like I think I’m ready to come inside now, and she came right back into the trap,” Saffoe said.
Though vets say she’s fine overall, Ollie will stay in the hospital for a few more days of observation.
Zoo officials have also taken the two male bobcats off display, likely for several weeks, as they reinforce the enclosure.