Red Panda missing from habitat at Virginia Zoo

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Staff at the Virginia Zoo are searching for a Red Panda that has been missing from its habitat since Monday afternoon.

Sunny, the 19-month-old Red Panda, was last seen inside her habitat at the zoo in Norfolk at 5 p.m. Monday prompting a search of the facility, the zoo said in a news release.

"The Virginia Zoo is working with the Norfolk Police Department to use a geothermal camera to search the Zoo grounds for Sunny," the zoo said.

Zoo staff are hopeful that Sunny is still somewhere on zoo grounds, but have instructed the public to contact the Virginia Zoo hotline if she is spotted anywhere outside in the nearby community.

The zoo said Red Pandas are not considered an aggressive species, but warned citizens not to attempt to touch, feed, or capture Sunny themselves out in the wild.

Sunny has lived at the zoo since arriving the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal in May 2016.