A RED panda is on the loose in Birmingham having made a death-defying escape from a glass-walled pen after a meal of bamboo.

Babu has been giving his keepers the runaround since vanishing from the Birmingham Nature Centre on Saturday night.

Red pandas, an endangered species, live mainly in trees and it is thought that Babu was either blown from a 30ft silver maple in his enclosure or leapt several metres from a branch to another tree outside.

It was the second time in four days that the animal has escaped. Last Wednesday he was quickly recaptured after a brief attempt at freedom. This time, despite a widespread search, he is still on the run.

The red panda, which in the wild would travel little more than 600ft (180m) a day, is thought to have roamed almost a mile through the leafy suburb of Edgbaston and perhaps beyond. The creature was last spotted on Monday morning when a hospital worker reported seeing it on the bird table in her garden. She assumed that the red and bushy-tailed animal was a fox and only realised it was Babu when she heard an appeal for help from the nature centre. Since that sighting and another a short distance farther on keepers and park wardens carrying nets have been searching gardens and peering into trees. After drawing a blank last night the search will resume this morning.

Babu’s adventurous streak has taken the nature centre’s staff by surprise because red pandas, while moderately inquisitive at times, are usually placid animals that would rather catch up on their sleep than scamper around cities.

Les Basford, senior keeper at the centre, believes that Babu took advantage of trees swaying in the wind to escape, despite staff having pruned back branches after his earlier bid for freedom.

He said: “Edgbaston is pretty leafy so he probably feels very much at home. He’s got plenty of places to go.

“Until now neither he nor his brother, Tensing, have shown any interest in leaving the enclosure. That’s why we can’t understand it. And it must have been a death-defying leap he made to get out. I think that after getting out the first time he liked it so much he thought he’d do it again.”

The centre believes that Babu must have crossed at least one main road and staff are now seriously concerned for his safety. People in Birmingham have been urged to call the centre if they see him but have been told not to approach the creature.

Red pandas are about the size of foxes and originate from China and Tibet where they live mainly on bamboo. An estimated 16-20,000 survive in the wild. They are related to giant pandas but scientists are divided on whether they are more closely related to bears or raccoons.

In Birmingham, Babu is likely to find small clumps of bamboo in gardens but will mostly rely on fruit, berries and leaves for food. Meanwhile, his brother is pining away at the centre where they lived as part of a conservation project.

Mr Basford said: “He looks very miserable. He’s sat up a tree looking decidedly confused and unhappy. He wants his brother back.”

SMALL, ENDANGERED AND SLEEPY

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