Red panda cub asks: ‘is it spring yet?’
Tuesday 15 February 2011
The current mild weather is enticing this little red panda cub, nearly six months old, to finally come out of its nesting box.
Born last June, the cub is only now taking its first tentative steps and exploring its surroundings.
Red panda cubs are known to stay tucked away, close to their mothers for several months after birth - but the extremely cold weather in December and early January prolonged this cub’s time indoors.
Now visitors can get a good view of the cub, which lives with mum Geri and father Peter in a large oak tree in the middle of the zoo, as it gets used to climbing.
Red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) are an endangered species and originate from the Himalayas. At the zoo the pandas eat a special high fibre, leaf eater diet.
Their favourite food is bamboo but they also enjoy bananas and grapes. A 'Red pandas revealed' talk and feed takes place daily at the zoo at 11.15am, giving a great opportunity to see the newcomer.
