In a statement to PEOPLE, a park spokesperson said the cat “escaped from a residential area in the park”
A cat found himself in a purr-carious position at Grand Canyon National Park over the weekend.
On Friday, June 21, the Grand Canyon NPS shared an image to X (formerly Twitter) of the feline stuck in a tree, in a rather strange pose.
As the agency noted, the black-and-white cat — who could be seen uncomfortably balancing himself on a branch in the middle of his stomach — was rescued by firefighters and first responders after they noticed the “furry adventurer from the heights of a tree at Grand Canyon. ”
“Tree-climbing for the purr-fect panorama,” the Grand Canyon NPS wrote, before asking for the public’s help to identify the cat’s owners.
Well, after being rescued around 1 p.m. near the park’s Mather Campground on the South Rim, the cat was eventually reunited with his family as of 7 p.m. local time Friday night. “Owners have been located,” the Grand Canyon NPS wrote in an update. “Thanks to all for your support and well wishes in getting this kitty home safe!”
In a statement to PEOPLE, a park spokesperson said the 2-year-old male cat was named Archie and “escaped from a residential area in the park” near the park’s Mather Campground. He was stuck approximately 15 feet in the air on the branch, which was part of a ponderosa pine tree.
Another image shared by the agency showed the kitty being rescued by a firefighter, who propped up a latter and climbed to the branch, as another first responder held it up against the pine.
The latest cat rescue comes the same week another feline in New York City was back on the ground after being stuck in a tree for several days.
As local ABC affiliate WABC reports, a cat was stuck in a large tree on Harlem’s West 150th Street for five days, before it was successfully convinced to return to the ground by animal rescue group Long Island Cat/Kitten Solution, Inc on Tuesday, June 18.
While the outlet notes that it’s unclear where the cat went after it scurried off post-rescue, tenants had previously heard the cat cry for multiple nights on end. The FDNY was reportedly unsuccessful at rescuing the cat — which residents of the local Dunbar Apartments had named PL Dunbar — on both Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18.
