Panda Barney took a trip out of his enclosure at the Cologne Zoo and kept zookeepers and the fire department on their toes. As the fire department announced, the nine-year-old animal probably used the bamboo that had been bent by snowfall and escaped from its enclosure.
After he was still at home on Wednesday evening, zookeepers discovered him on Thursday in a tree outside his enclosure. Because he couldn’t be motivated to get back down alone, the fire department came in to help.
The emergency services used a turntable ladder to encourage the runaway to leave the tree. Back on the ground, Barney was caught by his carers. He was released back into his enclosure “with slight grumbling.”
Barney, who was born in England and is also known as Fred at the Cologne Zoo, survived his adventure well, according to a zoo spokesman – and was welcomed into the enclosure by his waiting panda partner Mila.
