The cub, who has been confirmed as female, was found by delighted keepers nestled with Mithila on the afternoon of 28 June. Mithila came from a Swedish zoo to be paired with our resident male red panda, Jasper, as part of the European Breeding Programme for the species in January 2022.
Within just five months, the pairing proved successful with the birth of a healthy young cub. Red pandas are classified as “endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (ICUN) Red List of Threatened Species due to habitat loss and hunting for their meat and fur.
Oliver Lewis-McDonald, our Team Leader of Carnivores at Banham Zoological Gardens, said: “We are absolutely overjoyed to announce the birth of a red panda cub. The European Breeding Programme is instrumental in saving this endangered species, whose wild populations are believed to have decreased by 50% in less than 20 years. “Mithila and her cub are currently being given the utmost privacy in their nest boxes. Red panda cubs usually spend their first few months hidden in the nest before going out to explore their surroundings, but in the meantime, visitors may be able to catch a glimpse of Mithila moving her precious cub between boxes.”
The Zoological Society of East Anglia, the conservation education charity behind our work here at Banham Zoological Gardens and our sister park Africa Alive Zoological Reserve in Suffolk, works with The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Breeding Programme to conserve the populations of endangered animals, including red pandas.
The programme coordinator issues pairing recommendations for zoos all over Europe based on the genetic importance of potential offspring. Our male red panda, Jasper, arrived with us in 2015 and has previously fathered a total of three cubs in 2016, 2018 and 2019. These cubs have since gone on to fulfil their role in saving their species at other collections across Europe.
Red pandas are the original panda, having been discovered some 50 years before the giant panda. Unlike the giant panda, red pandas are arboreal, meaning they spend most of their time in trees.
Oliver added: “Red pandas are one of our most loved species at the park, popular with visitors for their fluffy bodies and distinctive red colour. We are sure visitors to Banham Zoological Gardens will be delighted to see this beautiful little cub taking its first independent steps out of the nest box in the coming weeks. “Recently the team gave this precious new arrival its first health check and we are delighted to report that we have a very healthy little female cub.”
Our newest arrival will begin exploring her new home in the coming weeks. Tickets can be booked online at: https://www.zsea.org/banham/tickets