A family’s cat has finally been recovered after three weeks of being on the run in Boston’s Logan International Airport. The cat -named Rowdy-had been successfully avoiding airport workers, airline employees, and animal experts since escaping from a pet container. Rowdy was finally caught Wednesday.

“Whether out of exhaustion or hunger we’ll never know, but this morning she finally let herself be caught,”an airport spokesperson said.

Rowdy is to be given a health examination and then returned to her family. “I’m kind of in disbelief,”said her owner, Patty Sahli. “I thought, ‘What are the odds we’re actually going to get her back?’ But I got a call this morning and I am just so shocked. ”

Rowdy’s time on the run began June 24. Sahli and her husband, Rich, returned to the United States from 15 years in Germany with the Army. When their Lufthansa airlines flight landed, the 4-year-old black cat with green eyes escaped her cage. She was chasing some birds in the area.

Soon Rowdy herself was on the object of a chase. Her escape set off a big search involving airport and Lufthansa workers. Construction workers, and animal welfare experts got involved as well. They used wildlife cameras and safe-release traps in an attempt to catch Rowdy. Many people saw Rowdy during her extended airport visit. However, the cat always escaped those who chased her.

Now, with Rowdy safely contained, a little calm has been returned to the airport. “It was such a community effort,” said Sahli, adding, “we’re just so grateful to everyone who helped look for her. ”

Nowadays, saving wild animals has become very important. Cities growing bigger and industries making more things have hurt the places where animals live. This has caused many kinds of animals to become fewer and fewer, which is bad for nature and for us.

Protecting wild animals is important because it keeps nature in balance. Every animal, even the tiny ones, has a job in nature. For example, bees help plants make seeds, which gives food and homes to other animals. If we don’t have bees, it can cause problems for all the other animals.

Also, saving animals helps keep different kinds of the same animal. This is good because it makes animals more able to deal with changes in their world, like the weather getting warmer. By keeping animals safe, we might find new medicines or learn new things from them.

We can help animals in many ways, like making special areas for them to live in safety, and making laws to stop people from hurting them. One good thing that happened is the American bald eagle getting more and more after people worked hard to save it.

But saving animals is not just for governments and big groups. Everyone can help. We can make good choices in our lives, like using less plastic and buying things that don’t hurt the earth. This way, we can all help protect animals.