Since Disney Pixar released the animated feature film Turning Red earlier this year, interest in red pandas has blossomed. This is excellent news for the species since they’re classed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list. Currently, fewer than 2,500 remain in the wild.
Red pandas are under constant threat due to factors such as deforestation, climate change, and the illegal pet trade. Any attention and support that the species can garner are helpful in protecting and conserving these adorable mammals.
Well, red panda fans have even more reason to celebrate— the Paradise Wildlife park in Hertfordshire UK welcomed the birth of a real-life endangered red panda cub on the 16th of July. The magical moment was captured by CCTV at the zoo.
The red panda’s mother, Tilly, wasn’t able to get pregnant for four years before successfully carrying her cub, named Little Red, to term. The sex of the cub is yet to be established. The keepers hope to determine it when Little Red is around six months old.
While Little Red’s birth is considered a “symbol of hope” for the species’ survival, the cub’s arrival is bittersweet; Tilly’s breeding partner, Nam Pang, unfortunately, died of Addison’s disease just a month before the birth.
Tilly and Nam Pang were brought together as part of the European Ex-Situ Breeding Program, which hopes to create a safety net for endangered species in the wild.
More about pandas
If you want to feel the joy of watching red panda’s playing check out this video.
Meanwhile, the Giant Panda has made a comeback!
