Missing Bobcat Found: Ollie Located On National Zoo Property

WASHINGTON, DC — Ollie, the bobcat missing since her escape from the Smithsonian National Zoo earlier this week, has been located on zoo property.

Zoo staff had given up on finding her earlier Wednesday, but a visitor spotted Ollie crossing the path at the zoo's bird house, said Craig Saffoe, curator of the great cats exibit at the zoo, during a press conference late Wednesday.

"We're just over the moon happy," Saffoe said.

After being alerted to Ollie's possible presence, staff at the bird house alerted Saffoe, and his team placed live traps around the area. About 15 minutes later, bird house staff let him know that a bobcat had been trapped, and after taking the 25-pound cat to the vet hospital, they confirmed it was Ollie. Saffoe said she was likely coming back and forth between the zoo and where she was spotted on Massachusetts Avenue.

Ollie has a small cut on her paw, but it's not bad enough to warrant treatment, Saffoe said.

Zoo staff had all but given up on Ollie, believing she would make her way to Rock Creek Park where she would be nearly impossible to find. There were several sightings of a bobcat in the nearby Cleveland Park and Woodley Park neighborhood, but authorities weren't able to track Ollie down.

The cat may have escaped through an opening in the mesh around her enclosure.

Image via National Zoo