World

Red panda found mile from zoo

09:57 am on 25 June 2013

A red panda missing from the US National Zoo in Washington DC has been found in a residential area about a mile away.

Rusty was last seen on Sunday evening and a search was began at 8am EST on Monday. The zoo said he was found in a bush and taken to an animal hospital for a check-up, .

Red pandas are native to the Himalaya mountains and parts of southern China.

Rusty arrived at the National Zoo from a zoo in Lincoln, Nebraska, in April and has been on display in since June.

The BBC reports he was brought to Washington DC to mate with a female red panda called Shama.