Ravi the red panda found safe as fluffy red tail spotted in fig tree
A daring escape from Adelaide Zoo has ended well for new resident red panda Ravi – zookeepers searched high and low until his bushy red tail dangling from a fig tree gave the game away
READING LEVEL: GREEN
An adventure-loving red panda’s daring three-day escape from Adelaide Zoo has come to a dramatic* end.
Ravi the red panda had only just moved to the zoo last week when he made a dash for freedom on Friday.
Zookeepers spent hours searching the zoo and neighbouring Botanic Park for the celebrity*-loving star attraction, who lived with the Irwins at Australia Zoo in Queensland before moving to Adelaide.
On Sunday morning, a sharp-eyed security officer noticed a fluffy red tail in a Moreton Bay fig tree in the park.
Ravi’s keepers produced a range of treats to lure him down – but sweet corn, bamboo and dried figs were not as sweet as freedom.
In a last-ditch effort, the panda was brought down with a tranquilliser* dart shot by a highly trained zookeeper.
Adelaide Zoo director Dr Phil Ainsley said the furry fugitive* would spend the next two to three days in a secure animal health department.
“Based on the advice from our vets, we made the decision of darting him,” Dr Ainsley said.
Ravi, a nocturnal* animal, was probably already asleep when he was hit by the dart.
A vet in a harness* climbed a ladder with a net to coax* Ravi out of the tree and into waiting blankets held by zookeepers.
The seven-year-old male red panda was born in Adelaide but had been sent to Australia Zoo, where he enjoyed the limelight* with the famous Irwin family and often featured in videos and photographs with Bindi, Terri and Robert on their social media platforms.
Dr Ainsley said red pandas were incredibly agile and last week’s bad weather, along with Ravi still getting accustomed to his new habitat*, could have led to his escape.
“Unfortunately with him being a new animal, obviously testing in terms of containment*, he’s managed to find a way out,” Dr Ainsley said.
He said the zoo would review Ravi’s escape in the coming days to ensure they understood how he escaped before putting him back in his enclosure.
Ravi’s escape was described as low risk for humans, and Dr Ainsley said being a red panda, Ravi had likely spent most of his time on the run sitting in a tree.
Adelaide Zoo has three red pandas. The zoo’s female red panda, Mishry, was moved to a free-roaming area of the zoo in March this year.
The exhibit allows her to use climbing tunnels to reach a giant Moreton Bay fig tree near the zoo’s entrance.
Dr Ainsley said zookeepers went through regular training in case an incident of this nature occurred.
GLOSSARY
- dramatic: event or circumstance that’s sudden, striking, exciting
- celebrity: relating to fame, prominence, importance
- tranquilliser: drug sometimes used to calm animals for safe interactions with humans
- fugitive: runaway, escapee, animal or person that has escaped confinement
- nocturnal: being active or happening at night rather than during the day
- harness: straps fitted around someone’s body to carry and/or keep something in place
- coax: gently, patiently encouraging a particular course of action
- limelight: referencing intense stage lighting, refers to public attention and interest
- habitat: place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows
- containment: holding, controlling or limiting something or someone
EXTRA READING
Red panda cubs born at Taronga
Red panda Roshani visits the vet
QUICK QUIZ
- How long was Ravi the red panda on the run?
- Ravi lived with which famous family before he moved to Adelaide Zoo last week?
- A decision was made to use what means to remove Ravi from the tree?
- How many red pandas live at the zoo?
- How old is Ravi and where was he born?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Tell Ravi’s story
How do you think Ravi would describe his escape? Write the story from his point of view.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Create a design for an enclosure that you think Ravi would love to live in. Use information in the story and your research skills to help you.
Time: allow 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
What happens next?
Imagine this story is part of an animated series made up of three cartoons. The three cartoons tell the complete story and this article is only Part 1. Think about what the rest of the story could be and draw the next two cartoons that tell the story.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Visual Arts; Visual Communication Design; Critical and Creative Thinking