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Officials said Joanie, who has only lived at the zoo for a couple of months, was sedated with a dart about 11:30 a.m. and taken to her sleeping quarters.
"The lockdown was quickly downgraded and only the cub's immediate area was considered on lockdown. All guests were moved to safety during the lockdown procedure. The zoo's Emergency Response Team went into immediate action to assess the situation, formulated a plan to tranquilize and secured the animal," the zoo said in a statement following the incident.
"With young animals, just like kids, they're into things, they're looking for something, they're testing everything," Lewis Greene, the Columbus Zoo's senior vice president of animal care and conservation, told WBNS-TV. "In this particular case, Joanie was quite athletic."
Greene said Joanie was captured at the wolverine exhibit, nearly 40 yards away from her enclosure.
The official said there were no injuries reported during the escape and Joanie is recovering well from her enclosure. The bear exhibit was closed for the remainder of the day Saturday and was expected to remain closed pending an investigation.