In honour of International Red Panda Day yesterday, here’s a round up of the latest red panda news and where to visit them around the UK.
West Midland Safari Park welcomes new red panda cub
In June, keepers at West Midland Safari Park heard tiny squeaks coming from a nesting box and noticed that resident red panda Mei Lin was grooming a new red panda cub inside.
Discovery Trail Keeper, Kyle Wingfield, said “This is both a hugely exciting, but also nerve-wracking time for us. It’s fantastic that Mei Lin and our male, Sanka, have successfully mated, after only being introduced just over a year ago. After a gestation period of four and a half months, the cub arrived, making it the first red panda cub we’ve ever had at the park in our 50-year history.“
Mei Lin was the first red panda to arrive at the park in August 2021 and was joined by male, Sanka, in March 2022 as part of an EEP (Eaza Ex-Situ Programme), which is a collaborative breeding programme between European zoos, aiming to conserve endangered species.
The park sponsors a forest guardian, through the Red Panda Network, who helps to monitor and protect the red pandas in their wild habitat.
Sanka can be seen on foot, in the Park’s walk-through Discovery Trail, which is included in the admission charge and the best prices can be booked online in advance. Children under the age of three are free. Adventure Theme Park rides are charged extra. Admission includes a Free Return to visit again within six months, only when booking online in advance.
For further information visit www.wmsp.co.uk
Red panda cubs born at Blackpool Zoo
Also in June, a tiny pair of endangered red panda cubs were born at Blackpool Zoo to mum Alina and dad Tao Tao, who successfully raised two cubs in 2021.
Red pandas breed in spring and summer, and cubs are totally dependent on their mother for the first three to four months until they start venturing out of the nest.
Luke Forster, Deputy Section Manager at Blackpool Zoo, said: “It is wonderful to see Alina and Tao Tao become parents for the second time after they successfully raised two cubs in 2021.
“The species is classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, with numbers still declining due to the loss of habitat from deforestation and the expansion of agriculture in their native Asian forests, meaning they are two very special babies.”
For more information visit www.blackpoolzoo.org.uk
Red panda family grows with birth of twins at Whipsnade Zoo
June also saw the birth of twin red pandas at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. Born to mum Ruby and dad Nilo, the tiny pair each weighed just 113g at birth – roughly the same weight as a banana.
Zookeeper Grant Timberlake said: “We suspected Ruby was pregnant and wanted to do everything we could to make her first experience as a mum a smooth one, so we were ecstatic when we spotted her curled up in one of the nesting boxes we had prepared, using her bushy red tail to keep the two cubs warm.
“These twin cubs give us double hope for the species, as they were born as part of an important European breeding programme for Endangered red pandas, designed to keep a healthy and genetically diverse back-up population safe in conservation zoos – while we tackle the issues they’re facing in the wild.
ZSL – the international conservation charity behind Whipsnade Zoo – is working in the Terai Arc Landscape, an area which spans both Nepal and India, to prevent the illegal wildlife trade, which has led to declines in Endangered red panda, Asian elephant and Bengal tiger populations. ZSL conservationists have helped to train more than 400 rangers, build guard posts and watchtowers, and install surveillance equipment to monitor these threatened species.
Visit Whipsnade Zoo to see Ruby and Nilo and more than 11,000 other animals. To book, visit: www.whipsnadezoo.org
Endangered red panda twins born at Longleat
A pair of rare red pandas have also been born at Longleat as part of an international breeding programme for the endangered species.
The two males, which were born at the end of June, are developing well and hitting key milestones thanks to the care and attention of mum Emma. Both Emma and dad Lionel are considered critically important members of the European Endangered Species Programme for the red panda due to their diverse genetics.
“Every animal birth is always special and exciting, but breeding an endangered species is an incredible thing to be part of,” said keeper Samantha Peeke. “As the cubs grow, they will go onto join the endangered species breeding programme and help ensure the survival of their species.
As they mature, the cubs will start to get braver and explore the outside world under the watchful eye of mum Emma and expert keepers at Longleat. Keepers check on the cubs throughout the day and monitor Emma closely, adapting her diet and environment as needed to ensure she has everything she needs to look after them. The cubs are also regularly weighed to ensure their continued growth and development.
Longleat has extensive experience of looking after and breeding red pandas, with six previous cubs having been successfully reared at the park, all of which have gone on to join breeding programmes at other collections across Europe.
Longleat has its own bamboo plantation to provide a regular supply of fresh bamboo leaves for the red pandas, replicating their wild diet as closely as possible. Due to bamboo being low in energy, red pandas can spend a large amount of their day sleeping to conserve energy and can often be seen snoozing in the trees of their enclosure.
In addition to being part of the European Endangered Species Programme for the Red Panda, Longleat is also helping to fund habitat restoration and replanting projects in Nepal.
Red panda fact file:
Red pandas are listed as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature), with populations decreasing and fewer than 2,500 thought to be left in the wild, due to threats such as habitat loss, a decline in their main food source – bamboo, hunting, poaching and smuggling for the illegal wildlife trade.
They are native to the Eastern Himalayas and spend most of their lives in trees, including when sleeping.
Often associated with the giant panda, they are actually more closely related to the raccoon.
They are smaller than people might expect – only the size of a typical house cat, with a long, bushy tail that can add up to 18 inches to their length.
Red panda (Ailurus fulgens) cubs are blind for the first 30 days of their lives, and heavily reliant on their mothers.
Red pandas are carnivores, but their natural diet consists mostly of bamboo; each red panda can eat 20,000 bamboo leaves a day in the wild.
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