German zoo finds escaped red pandas

updated 11:52 a.m. ET Dec. 5, 2008

BERLIN - A German zoo says it has recovered two red pandas that escaped their enclosure by climbing bamboo stalks weighed down by snow.

Opel Zoo spokeswoman Margarete Herrmann says the pandas escaped Thursday night from the zoo that is near Frankfurt by climbing bamboo stalks that had cracked and fallen over the top of their outdoor enclosure after recent snowfall.

The pandas were found Friday after they crossed a main roadway and hid in a field.

Matt and his partner, Luri, are the zoo's only red pandas, endangered cat-sized mammals native to southern Asia.

Herrmann says zoo administrators are "happy and elated" to have the pair back.

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