Two endangered red panda cubs were born in June at Cork’s Fota Wildlife Park, it has been announced.
Born at Fota’s conservation centre, the cubs are the offspring of three-year-old mother Suzi, who arrived at Fota Wildlife Park from Berlin Zoo, and seven-year-old father Grga, who was transferred from Zagreb Zoo in Croatia in June 2019.
The cubs are not yet visible to the public, remaining in a nesting box where they sleep and nurse with their mother, Fota Wildlife Park said in a statement on Wednesday.
Visitors might be able to catch a glimpse of them in the next three weeks as they begin to explore their surroundings under the supervision of their mother during brief periods in the early morning or late evening.
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The red panda, which has reddish-brown fur, a bushy ringed tail and a bear-like body, is classified as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund. They are often poached for their distinctive pelts in China and Myanmar.
The cubs’ parents are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), a collaborative initiative among European zoos and wildlife parks to ensure the survival of the threatened species through coordinated breeding efforts.
The park is now home to six red pandas that live in a specially designed habitat in the Asian sanctuary, where they are fed freshly harvested bamboo grown on site.
Julien Fonteneau, lead ranger at Fota Wildlife Park, said the care of an endangered species is “one of the most meaningful aspects of the animal care work at Fota Wildlife Park”.
“We hope that the red panda births will raise awareness around species and biodiversity loss and will inspire and educate the visiting public and future generations,” Mr Fonteneau said.
The park is calling on the public to help name the new cubs. Suggestions can be entered here.
