Red Panda Missing from National Zoo

Who doesn't want to get out of DC?

A male red panda has turned up missing at the Smithsonian National Zoo, a spokeswoman said Monday, and zoo officials have been combing the grounds searching for him.

Rusty, who is less than a year old and is about the size of a raccoon, was not seen in his enclosure at 7:30 a.m. Monday, and the zoo sounded a "Code Green" alert for an escaped animal at 8 a.m.

The zoo gates were closed temporarily as the search began, but were reopened at 9:45 a.m., after the animal wasn't found, said spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson.