WVEC

One of the Virginia Zoo's red pandas went missing Tuesday, and the zoo was working with Norfolk Police to use a geothermal camera to search the grounds for the missing animal, officials said.

Authorities say the last time the 19-month-old red panda named Sunny was seen, it was by a zoo worker on Monday at 5 p.m.

During the morning check Tuesday, Sunny was not in her enclosure.

Workers are searching the zoo grounds, but want any neighbors in the area to be on alert in case the animal made it off the property.

Red pandas are "generally not considered aggressive animals," the Zoo said in a statement, but "like any wild animal its behavior can be unpredictable and you should not try to touch, feed, or capture Sunny yourself."

If anyone sees Sunny, please call the Virginia Zoo hotline at 757-777-7899.

Sunny, one of our Red pandas, is missing from her habitat. Please call/text our hotline @ 777-7899 w helpful info. https://t.co/j8i7beiMCspic.twitter.com/xJ5GKKJb6P — The Virginia Zoo (@VirginiaZoo) January 24, 2017

Red pandas have thick, reddish-brown fur and big, bushy tails that they use as wraparound blankets in chilly weather, according to National Geographic. They can be seen on the ground, but typically are found in trees, according to the zoo. They are an endangered species and are distantly related to the black and white giant pandas. Red pandas typically grow to the size of a house cat — between 12 and 20 pounds, according to National Geographic.

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Like giant pandas, they like to eat bamboo, berries, blossoms and bird eggs. In the wild, red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal; northern Myanmar, also known as Burma; and central China, spending most of their lives including sleeping in trees. They are most active at night.

Fewer than 10,000 adult red pandas remain in the world, according to the National Zoo.

Sunny arrived at the Virginia Zoo in May 2016 from Front Royal, the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute, according to the zoo website.

Sunny isn't the first red panda to successfully break out of its enclosure. In 2013, a young red panda male named Rusty slipped out of an enclosure at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and spent a day roaming the streets of the nation's capital. In November 2015, a young red panda named Masala managed to get out of her enclosure at the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, Calif., but was returned safely a few hours later.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.