An endangered red panda made a second attempt in three months to get free from his wildlife habitat but was recaptured after rescuers came up with a dramatic scheme to get him back.
Kush, a seven-year-old red panda, previously succeeded in fleeing from the Curraghs Wildlife Park situated in the Isle of Man. It took about three weeks to find and recapture him after he escaped for the first time from the park in October.
Let’s find out how they got him the second time!
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Video credit: Rumble
The naughty panda tried again to get out of his habitat but his presence was noticed by the general public. The adorable panda finally got caught from a tree.
Kush is now in safe hands and is cared for in the animal-hospital. He was given his favorite ‘panda cake’ to eat besides bamboo, sweet potatoes and fruits.
Kathleen Graham, Curraghs park manager told FEMAIL news: “We’re keeping him in just now to keep an eye on him but he’s fine, he was quite hungry. He tucked into lunch as soon as he got back.”
Speaking of how the animal succeeded in escaping from the park two times, she said: “We’re in the final throes of our investigation.
“The first time was a branch that had snapped off and come down to cause a bridge for him to walk out.”
She added: “It’s not been a branch or a failure of the enclosure but we’ll have a statement soon about it.”
People on social media have really enjoyed another ‘escape plan.’ Soon after the panda’s recapture, a Facebook page has been created to share the beautiful moments and innocent mischief of little Kush.
Speaking of the efforts to rescue the rare animal who was in danger as his vicinity was filled up with unknown people and congested roads, Kathleen said: “They’re very good at hiding.
“The first sightings were on Friday, where he was seen in the forested area opposite from the park. By the time the team got up there, they searched but could not find him.”
She added: “On Saturday we got the call that he was outside the park and there he was, up the top of a tree.
“I think he was actually trying to come back, but the road was a worry for us so we had to get him back before any ill harm came to him.”
The crew then made a theatrical plan to safely rescue Kush who was trying to hide in the branches of a tree.
“The digger was there to stop him from quickly moving onto another tree,” said Kathleen.
“We had him on a branch in a good spot where we could bring him down safely, so we didn’t want him moving away from that.”
To make the rescue possible, they sought help from police, contractors and the general public.
They sealed the road for several minutes and cut a branch of tree using pole saw to make Kush fall on the net which was being held by many people.
Red pandas are normally two-foot-long and are considered as ‘rare’ and ‘endangered’ animals as their number in the whole world collectively amounts to even less than 10,000. Most of them are found in Nepal.
Kush was born in Scotland in the Highland Wildlife Park. For the past six years, he has been living in the Curraghs Wildlife Park.
“The red pandas are all in our studbook, they’re endangered animals and important for the breeding program,” said Kathleen.
“Last year we had a red panda day and we gave £1,200($2,600) to the Red Panda Network to help with the conservation work out there. That money went specifically to plant a home for a project in Nepal where they’re making a corridor of forest to connect two panda habitats.
“If Kush can use his celebrity status in any way, it would be good to highlight the plight of his wild pals that aren’t having such a good time!”
Local resident James Gid Gales filmed the spectacular scenes of rescue and created a Facebook page, JustGiving, to get funds and buy a thermal drone so that the residents can locate lost animals.
Replaced!