Red panda on the loose after escaping from California zoo

Mary Bowerman | USA TODAY Network

See ya! Local authorities are searching for a red panda that escaped from a California zoo on Thursday.

The young red panda, named Masala, managed to get out of her enclosure at the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, Calif., on Thursday afternoon, The North Coast Journal reported.

She was spotted in a neighborhood late Thursday, according to zoo manager, Gretchen Ziegler, the Journal reported.

"We have no idea how she got over the fence," Ziegler told the Journal. "It's contained red pandas since it was built. Animals can do things you can't imagine. We're going to try to figure it out."

This isn't the first red panda to successfully break out of its enclosure and head for greener pastures. In 2013, a young red panda male, named Rusty, slipped out of an enclosure at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and headed out into the streets of the nation's capital.

Rusty's jail break spurred a swift reaction on Twitter and potential sitings were reported across the city.

Red panda in our neighborhood! 20th NW and Biltmore. Please come save him! @nationalzoo1 pic.twitter.com/llQF7P9QH5 — Ashley Foughty (@AshleyFoughty) June 24, 2013

Alas, all good things come to an end, and Rusty was safely returned to the his enclosure several hours later. He was unscathed, but perhaps, a little more street smart.

Masala's escape is a little different than Rusty's. Instead of pounding the city pavement, staff believe the young panda may have made her way into the Sequoia Park forest around the zoo, the Journal reported.

Authorities said people should avoid contact with the panda and call authorities if they spot Masala, according to The Time-Standard.

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