Reggie Plays Hide & Seek Houdini-Style

Last week, we wondered if Reggie was truly ready for his big L.A. Zoo debut. It now seems that Reggie is saying, quite firmly, that he he'd like more time to ready himself for his public. Or that he'd like a break from putting on a happy face for the kiddies. Or maybe he's just having a laugh. According to the LA Times, he "disappeared" from his water enclosure overnight at the zoo:

Zoo officials said they couldn't find Reggie this morning in his water enclosure at the zoo, where he was placed after finally being captured from Lake Machado earlier this year. He was found sometime later on zoo grounds but outside his enclosure, according to two zoo sources.

Officials said they found Reggie about 10 a.m. near a loading dock, not far from the Children's Discovery Center.

Found near the Children's Discovery Center? Yikes. Zoo staff later learned that Reggie got out of his enclosure by climbing a wall. He is expected to be placed back in his habitat this afternoon and his "public" schedule will remain on track. Zoo officials are confident that the public will be safe if Reggie attempts another go at playing hide & seek. They're modifying his enclosure to be sure of it.

Let us count the minutes (seconds?) until the "Free Reggie" cries begin. If animal advocates were concerned about his capture and enclosure before, we expect that this will only fan the flames. What do you think -- should he stay or should he go? Reggie could tell us himself, if only he were blogging again.

Photo by AP