A 25-pound bobcat is on the loose in Washington, D.C.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 30 January 2017

A 25-pound bobcat is wandering Washington, D.C., after escaping from its enclosure at the Smithsonian's National Zoo sometime early Monday. Zookeepers say they last saw the female bobcat named Ollie around 7:30 a.m. ET Monday during a "routine check." When they came back about three hours later, Ollie was gone.

The National Zoo's associate director of animal care said zookeepers suspect the cat snuck through a "small hole in the mesh fence intended to keep her in," The New York Times reported. Right now, zoo staff are taking "several measures" to lure the big cat back to her cage, a zoo press release said. They're also hopeful her enclosure's promise of food and shelter may be enough to bring her back to the zoo.

In the meantime, D.C. residents shouldn't be all that concerned. "There is no imminent danger to zoo guests or general public," the zoo said, noting that bobcats "are not known to be aggressive to humans." However, small birds, dogs, or cats might not be quite so safe, as Ollie is reported to be a "capable hunter."