The daring Red Panda named Masala, who escaped from the Sequoia Park Zoo on Thursday, has been found, thus ending her adventure. But she didn't get very far; according to the Times-Standard, she was spotted about a half-mile from the zoo's entrance.

Zoo Manager Gretchen Ziegler said that a citizen saw the panda ambling around Hodgson and Q Streets, and called the number for Sequoia Park Zoo staff. The citizen then "herded" Masala up into a fruit tree in their backyard, so she could keep an eye on the panda until staff came. Once they got there, they were able to lure Masala down the 10-foot tree with food; a good strategy for the capture of both animals and humans alike, really.

Ziegler said that Masala's behavior, once back in captivity was normal for a panda. She also said that zoo managers still don't know how Masala got out in the first place, calling it a "freak anomaly." Either way, she's just happy the panda's back, and told the Times-Standard, "It’s a dangerous world out there. We were very worried we might not get her back."

Kids do the darndest things—like stabbing beautiful creatures to death, and forging notes from their parents. The fine folks at Bernal Cutlery came across this note "tucked away in an old Atlas Co knife display case from Oakland, CA." It's downright adorable, terrifying.

The fine folks at Ice Tubes bring to our attention a found gem. And we love us some found gems. This one, a Spanish message scribbled on a napkin, was found in SOMA. According to Ice Tubes, it roughly translates into, "My love you are a drunk with no shame. I want you to give me an apology for the way you are."

Which is to say: please stop going into, and then translating into Spanish, our inbox, whomever you are.

[H/T: Brad of the very wonderful Meow Mix]

Friend of SFist, Kate, picked up this awesome pastel drawing on a sidewalk in Berkeley the other day, which features the intriguing headline, "Vicodin Pool Party." Kate hopes to return the poster to its rightful owner, who might have dropped it in their Vicodin haze.

SFist is still waiting for our invitation to the party, by the way.

What on earth does this even mean?

We had just arrived at a bachelorette party in Santa Cruz on Friday afternoon when we received a curious picture message from a 208 Iowa Idaho area code -- the only picture we've ever received on our dinky, no-frills phone. Our phone had cropped the photo in such a way that we couldn't tell it was actually an image of a TV screen. The voluptuous buttocks, black leotard, and tube socks made for some good laughs for five minutes, in between champagne refills. The clutter and wood paneling in the background makes the image all the more creepy. We can't say we know anyone in Iowa Idaho, which leads us to notice how cell phones have really opened up the possibilities for the average prank caller.

Enjoy larger version.

We found these two pieces of paper on the street this week. The plane, which looks rather Futurama-esque, was picked up on Wednesday at Fillmore and Pine. On the flip side is a list of what could be phone numbers in the 808 Hawaii area code. The second scrap was found yesterday at Post and Taylor. We have never been to Matrix, but "hip hop" yuppie does not sound very intriguing. Hm, we wonder which venue they were referring to at Sixth and Harrison. The reverse side of this scrap features a faded wine list.

Submit your Bay Area finds to found [at] sfist [dot] com, or tag them sfist and found on Flickr! Let us know where and when you found the item and any other interesting info.

We were thinking of recycling our geriatric, four-year-old ("fourth-generation") iPod for a ten-percent discount on a Nano when it gave us a very nasty sad-face last month. We thought we were doomed when it wouldn't respond to the reset commands, but funnily enough it keeps coming back to life after letting it sit for a while. Maybe we'll hold out for an iPhone (if the voice quality ever gets better).

Submit your Bay Area finds to found [at] sfist [dot] com, or tag them sfist and found on Flickr. Let us know where and when you found the item and any other interesting info.

We see there are some good finds via the sfist found Flickr tags. We will post more soon!

Young whippersnapper, Santa Cruz resident 18-year-old Matthew Rosenberg, called his mom on Monday to tell her he had "tripped, broke his leg and was lost" in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He was half right. What he didn't tell her was that he was also bombed out of his mind on hallucinogenic mushrooms and a wee bit of acid. Oh yeah, and that he didn't break his leg.

An expensive rescue effort ensued, and Rosenberg was found safe and...very happy. According to Fire Captain Bill Finch:

"He was really gorked," Finch said of Rosenberg's condition when rescuers found him standing near a rock at the bottom of a ravine - more amused and bewildered than safe and sound. "He wasn't normal. He was like one of those guys who's been drinking a lot and starts saying, 'I love ya, man.'"

No criminal charges will be filed against the Los Gatos High School senior, but the kid's father tells ABC 7 that "he probably won't get to use the car for a while."

This lovely photo of the political poster wall on Valencia near 24th St. captured by Seven Morris comes to us via the "found" and "sfist" tags. Apparently the wall got "hijacked" for Prisoner Awareness Day last Tuesday.

Here's what the wall looked like last July, courtesy of tlong. We love the layers and layers.

See photos of a much sparser wall that we shot back in June of 2005, after the jump!

Submit your Bay Area finds to found [at] sfist [dot] com, or tag them sfist and found on Flickr. Let us know where and when you found the item and any other helpful info.

Hey, did you find a notebook carrying proof that the Lord above exists? If so, Ken would like it back. If you have said book of miracles, find Ken's East Bay based number here.

Then we found ourselves thinking, what if this were just another penis drawing -- we probably wouldn't even bother posting it. Penis drawings are a dime a dozen, but vagina drawings such as this are real pearls diamonds in the rough.

Submit your Bay Area finds to found [at] sfist [dot] com, or tag them sfist and found on Flickr. Let us know where and when you found the item and any other helpful info.

See the centerfold version after the jump!