Escaped giant panda wanders city streets

A wild giant panda which wandered into a southwestern Chinese city on the weekend led would-be rescuers on a day-long chase before it was captured and returned to the wild, the China Daily reported.

The animal was first spotted in Dujiangyuan, a city in Sichuan province, and was pursued by residents of a housing complex who initially thought it was a cat burglar, it said.

The panda managed to escape by climbing over roofs and disappearing through an iron gate into darkness.

Several hours later, police received reports that the panda had been sighted in a river. It climbed into a tree where it was tranquilised.

Firemen were able to lift the panda from the tree so it could be returned home.