Twin red panda cubs emerge at Longleat safari park
- Published
- comments
The 10-week-old cubs are only now beginning to venture outside
These two adorable twin red panda cubs have made their first public appearance at Longleat safari park.
The little cubs, who were born in the summer, spent the first 10 weeks of their life snuggled up with their mum in their bed, but are now stretching their paws and venturing outside for the first time!
"Both cubs are doing really well," said their keeper Sam Allworthy.
"Although we have yet to name them, we have been able to do their first health checks and can confirm they're both females." they said.
Both cubs are said to be doing really well
The twin sisters enjoyed spending their first day outside by eating bamboo and sleeping.
They're the first cubs to be born to new red panda parents Emma and Lionel.
"Emma is a great mum and she has been looking after them fantastically." said Sam.
Red pandas have two layers of fur to keep them warm in the chilly mountains, and they cuddle their tail like a blanket when they sleep.
They spend most of their lives living in trees, and can eat around two kilograms of bamboo a day.
Red pandas mostly live on their own, but they can communicate with each other by using something scientists call a "huff-quack" - a mix between a duck quack and a pig snort.
Both cubs are said to be doing really well
In the wild, red pandas can be found in the rainy mountain forests of Nepal, India, Bhutan, northern Myanmar, and central China.
However, they are increasingly under threat due to habitat loss, deforestation and poaching and have been listed as endangered on the ICUN red list since 2008.
Researchers think there could be as few as 2,500 red pandas living in the wild.
- Published22 August 2014
- Published25 June 2013
