The little red panda who could ... almost

By Yang Wanli (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-21 10:24

The red panda is a popular attraction at Beigong National Forest Park.

A red panda briefly escaped its cage at a popular tourist park on Saturday, sparking alarm among visitors who tried to stop it running away.

The red panda, which looks like a raccoon, broke free from its cage about 4:45 pm, just hours after its arrival at the Beigong National Forest Park in Daxing district.

A witness surnamed He said visitors tried to stop the panda running away, but it managed to escape them and run further into the park.

"Before it run away, the visitors nearby formed a circle in a hurry to stop it," He told Beijing Youth Daily. "And then, workers in the park came and caught it immediately."

The red panda was only out of its cage for about 10 minutes.

A worker surnamed Wu with the Beigong National Forest Park said they tried to make the red panda calm down and persuade visitors not to hurt it.

"We finally caught it with our clothes and we don't want to hurt it," said Wu.

"One of our staff was hurt - biten by this naughty guy. But it's not serious."

Red panda, also called the fire fox or lesser panda, is a mostly herbivorous mammal.

It is a small, raccoon-like and has reddish fur, white face markings, and a long ringed tail. It is slightly larger than a domestic cat.

It is endangered and receives second-level State protection in China.

It has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon, with which it shares a ringed tail. It shares the giant panda's rainy, high-altitude forest habitat.