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'Depressed' Ferret Flees Siberian Circus

A ferret has escaped a circus in the East Siberian city of Chita along with a monkey and a red-breasted parakeet — apparently because they all were feeling down due to bad weather.

"We believe the creatures have fled because of their depression — the rain in Chita just doesn't stop," the circus' art director, Zhanna Lazerson, told Interfax on Thursday.

"We found the monkey in a doghouse in the morning, and the two animals were cuddling in their sleep," she said. "But the search for the ferret and the parakeet goes on."

She said the escape has added to the animals' depression in the circus because the male parakeet was partnered on stage with a female parakeet who is now missing him.

The ferret is less missed, with Lazerson calling him a "terrible glutton, idle to the core."

Nevertheless, the troupe hopes that the animals will return to their circus home once they get really hungry.

Weather forecasts say the rain won't let up in Chita this week.

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