Panda that escaped Isle of Man wildlife park found three weeks later – up a tree A drone and a live trap was set, but in the end a member of the public spotted him

Kush escaped from a wildlife park on the Isle of Man three weeks ago after a tree fell across his enclosure and left him free to roam.

But the good news is, he has been found.

How did they find him?

He was recaptured after he was spotted up a tree in a garden. A live trap had been set and a drone had been used to locate the animal, but in the end he was seen by a member of the public in a garden about a mile away in Tholt-y-Will, Sulby. It took staff about an hour to capture the animal with a net before he was taken back to the park in a box.

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The park staff must be overjoyed.

Kathleen Graham, General manager of Curraghs Wildlife Park, north-west of the Isle of Man, said everyone at the park was “really relieved” Kush had been found.

Kush doesn’t look like a panda?

Red pandas have reddish-brown fur; a long, shaggy tail; a waddling gait (because of its shorter front legs) and is about the size of a domestic cat. An endangered species, it is also known (perhaps rather harshly) as the lesser panda. Other names for it are the red bear-cat and the red cat-bear.

The red panda is not closely related to the giant panda. It is the only living species of the genus Ailurusa and the family Ailuridae. Previously, the red panda was placed in the raccoon and bear families, but further analysis showed that it was more accurate to classify them in their own family.

And how is Kush faring since his little adventure?

The seven-year-old is being checked over in the park’s hospital before he is returned to his home. It is thought that he “might have lost a bit of weight” but otherwise he “looks quite healthy,” Kathleen said.

Since the escape, any tree branches that looked fragile in the red panda enclosure have been removed, she added.