Masala the red panda escaped from the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka on Thursday sometime between feeding time at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., when zoo staff confirmed that they were one panda short.

Zoo manager Gretchen Ziegler said the panda, a fully grown 1.5-year-old female, was last spotted around Fern and Vista drives in Eureka. Ziegler asks residents that spot the panda to not approach it but also not lose sight of it and call either her at 499-3668 or the Eureka Police Department at 441-4044. She said they will respond immediately.

“She’s vulnerable, she’s never been out of the exhibit,” Ziegler said.

She said the biggest threat to Masala would be cars or any animals that prey on animals her size.

“We searched very diligently all afternoon,” Ziegler said.

The details of Masala’s escape remain under investigation. Ziegler said the enclosure seems secure, but zookeepers are keeping a close eye on the exhibit. The other three pandas in the habitat seem so far unaffected by the absence of their missing comrade.

With her thick coat of fur, Masala should be fine during evenings but the longer she’s on the loose the longer she doesn’t have a reliable source of food or water, Ziegler said.

“Eventually she’ll be looking for bamboo,” she said.

Luckily bamboo, Masala’s main food source, is plentiful in nearby yards.