Rusty the red panda returns safely to the National Zoo

Courtesy Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

Twitter/AshleyFoughty

Twitter/@AshleyFoughty

Washington Humane Society

Washington Humane Society

Courtesy Abby Wood, Smithsonian's National Zoo

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UPDATE: Monday – 6/24/2013, 2:31pm ET

WASHINGTON – A Twitter photo and phone tip from a resident helped animal keepers track down a red panda in a Washington neighborhood Monday after it went missing from the National Zoo.

The male named Rusty was captured in a tree near a home in the Adams Morgan neighborhood Monday afternoon, said National Zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson.

Senior curator Brandie Smith said animal keepers surrounded the area where he was found and called Rusty’s name to calm him before capturing him in a net.

“We just had to approach him carefully,” she said. “We are surprised by the distance he was able to cover.”

The animal was taken to the zoo’s animal hospital for a checkup and will remain there for several days.

How he escaped is still a mystery, though. Zoo officials began reviewing security footage Monday morning to see if there is any evidence of how Rusty escaped or whether he may have been taken by a human and then set loose.

Curators have cut back any long tree limbs that may have aided the skilled climber with the escape.

“There is no obvious point that Rusty could have gotten out of the enclosure,” Smith said, adding that it had held red pandas for years. “We all know that young males like to test boundaries.”

Unlike giant pandas, red pandas are not members of the bear family. Red pandas are slightly bigger than a domestic cat and look similar to a raccoon. They are listed as vulnerable in the wild and native to China. Scientists believe about 10,000 of the animals remain.

Rusty arrived at the zoo in April from a zoo in Lincoln, Neb., and was in quarantine for several weeks until he went on exhibit in early June. He will turn 1 year old in July.

Red pandas are highly territorial, so zoo officials did not believe he would have traveled far. Rusty, it seems, wanted to explore his new city.

Animal keepers discovered he was missing Monday morning and started searching the zoo at 8 a.m. The zoo began sending out messages about his disappearance Monday morning on Twitter in case someone saw him.

A spokeswoman said the zoo was “incredibly grateful” that a woman who lived nearby saw him, tweeted a picture and called the zoo. The woman apparently had to leave town on a trip Monday, so they couldn’t thank her in person.

Earlier, Twitter user Ashley Foughty snapped a photo of a creature that appears to be Rusty in Adams Morgan near 20th and Biltmore streets.

Zoo Director Dennis Kelly said officials will thoroughly review the incident and said it’s rare for any animal to escape.

“We will not let this happen again,” he said. “Before we put Rusty back, we’ll go back over this exhibit with a fine tooth comb.”

The female red panda remained on view in the leafy exhibit Monday, despite the hoopla over her mate.

EARLIER: Monday – 6/24/2013, 2:10pm ET

WASHINGTON — A red, white and gold member of the National Zoo is missing, and officials are searching nearby tree limbs in hopes of recovering Rusty the red panda.

Zookeepers noticed him missing Monday morning when they went in to feed the red pandas. They are not sure how long he has been missing.

National Zoo officials say Rusty is most likely napping hidden in a tree somewhere in or very close to the Zoo.

Unlike giant pandas, red pandas are not members of the bear family. Red pandas are slightly bigger than a domestic cat and are listed as vulnerable in the wild.

He was last seen Sunday around 6 p.m. Zookeepers tweeted they have been combing the trees near the zoo since 8 a.m., and worry that he could be “sick and hiding:”

The 11-month-old arrived in D.C. earlier this month after making his way from the Lincoln Zoo in Nebraska.

Officials warn not to approach the creature if spotted:

The National Zoo will update Twitter and Facebook with more information throughout the day.

In the meantime, a Twitter account has been created claiming to be Rusty. NatlZooRedPanda says he has been furloughed and is searching for paint to conceal his identity.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.