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An escaped red panda has been returned to a zoo in Newquay after it was spotted exploring the town's streets.

Sundara the panda was seen around half a mile from Newquay Zoo by workers in a greengrocers.

Members of staff said she looked like she was walking around "without a care in the world".

The panda was soon taken in by the police, who kept her safe until Newquay Zoo staff arrived to collect her.

'A big funny-coloured cat'

This is what one worker thought the escaped red panda might have been after taking a first glance at her.

Staff at Freshpoint greengrocers were surprised when they saw Sundara - and acted quickly to keep her safe.

She went into a courtyard opposite their shop, which they blocked off before waiting for the zoo team to come and rescue her.

They even rolled an apple to her to keep her busy whilst they waited!

Red panda rescue mission

The grocery team called the police, who soon arrived to help capture the escapee. Devon and Cornwall police said they received a call early on Friday morning that a red panda had been found in the town.

Sundara was then returned to Newquay Zoo, to be reunited with fellow red panda Seren. The pair are the only two red pandas in the zoo.

What are red pandas?

In the wild, red pandas live in forests in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. They prefer to be at high-altitude - which means high above sea level, in the mountains.

They like to be close to a source of water, as well as bamboo to eat.

In the day they usually rest above the ground in trees and are usually active at night until the early hours of the morning.

The WWF says there are currently fewer than 10,000 red pandas in the wild, and the animals are listed as endangered, under threat from poaching, as well as loss of habitat.

A loss of habitat is when an animal's home such a forest or a lake is destroyed, through a cause like deforestation or pollution.