A pair of red pandas has been born at Chester Zoo in the UK. Keepers discovered that they had babies after hearing “little squeaks” coming out of the panda’s nest box.
The twin pandas were sexed as a boy and a girl when they received their first health check the other day.
Keeper Maxine Bradley said they passed with flying colours, “Our two cubs are in very good shape. They’re big and strong with very thick fur – our male weighed in at just under 1kg and our female 842g.”
Parents Nima and Jung are very proud of the new arrivals with this being the first time keepers had been let near them.
Bradley said “We’re really pleased with how well they’re doing and, as soon as we had given them a health check, we popped them back into their nest. It’ll be several weeks until they start to emerge and explore. “
The red panda has a scientific name, Ailurus fulgens, meaning “brilliant cat.” They are at home in the Himalayas along the steep forested slopes. These animals have no close living relatives which is very rare within the animal kingdom.
Poaching and habitat loss have lead conservation experts to list them as endangered.
Photo Credits: Chester Zoo
