ZooBorns

Red Panda Cub Gets a Check-up

Vets at the UK's Chester Zoo got their fist opportunity to get a proper look at their new Red Panda cub, who has been kept away from prying eyes by its doting mum (except for these awesome pictures). The cub’s check-up went well with a clean bill of health and a snazzy new microchip (just in case). But the real excitement came when they discovered that the cub was female, a first for Chester Zoo! Keepers are now thinking of a suitable name for the newcomer.

It is expected that the cub will become more independent from September onwards.  She is the sixth cub for nine year old mother Lushui and father is Pali who came to the Zoo from Germany.

 

Red Panda Mom Shows Her Skills at Chester Zoo

New photos by David Evans from the UK's Chester Zoo reveal just how agile a Red Panda mom has to be. Mom has a tight grip on her tiny cub as she navigates the veritable obstacle course that is the red panda cub enclosure. Expert climbers, Red Pandas are catlike in many of their behaviors including grooming, lying outstretched when it's hot, and curling up with tails over their snouts in colder weather.

Photo Credits: David Evans

Red Panda Born at National Zoo. First in 15 Years!

It was love at first sight for Shama and Tate, the red pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and now, nearly 1½ years after they were introduced, the pair has a cub as evidence of their strong bond. On Wednesday, June 16, Shama gave birth to a single cub—the first for both of the Zoo’s red pandas and the first red panda cub born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 15 years.

Photo Credits: Smithsonian's National Zoo

'Pipsqueak the Panda' Born at Wellington Zoo

While the name Pipsqueak is still unofficial for this two month old Red Panda cub, it seems fitting to us. Born on Christmas Eve at New Zealand's Wellington Zoo, keepers have kept their distance while they give mom and cub time to bond.

 
 

The Real Kung Fu Pandas

Favorite zoo video to date: rough-housing Red Panda cub footage set to music from Kill Bill at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. They have clearly mastered Crane style.

Juvenile Red Pandas play to learn skills that will be useful later in life. Wrestling skills for example may some day help them acquire a better mate, defend themselves from predators or get them a breakthrough role in a Tarantino movie.

Keti the Firefox Debuts in Calgary

Red Pandas, also known as firefoxes, may be called pandas but are actually more closely related to raccoons than Giant Pandas. However, watching the video below might lead you to believe they are most closely related to giant fluffy caterpillars. The Calgary Zoo's newest little firefox, Keti, debuted last week. 

Meet Mei Mei at Cleveland Metroparks

Three red panda triplets bounded into Cleveland Metroparks Zoo earlier this summer. Little Pang Pang and Xiao are currently on exhibit but Mei Mei required special veterinary care and is getting special attention from zoo staff behind the scenes. Mei Mei is pictured below at 4 weeks and 9 weeks.

In other Red Panda veterinary news, the Smithsonian National Zoo's newest Red Panda received a clean bill of health after an EKG pictured below.

Four's Company at the Denver Zoo

The Denver Zoo is proud to announce the birth of four endangered red panda cubs! The July 9th birth of quadruplet red panda cubs is extremely rare; this marks only the fifth recorded birth of quadruplets at an accredited U.S. zoo.

Adorable ZooBorns Video Round-Up

There's so much going on at zoo nurseries these days we can barely keep up! Enjoy this collection of outstanding videos from Smithsonian National Zoo and Bronx Zoo.

In a 24-hour-period between July 9 and 10, a clouded leopard cub, a Przewalski's horse, and a red panda cub were all born at Smithsonian's National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center

Looks like the Smithsonian National Zoo is gonna need a bigger bird house!

Watch a baby lemur grow from a sleepy eyed infant into a bouncing teen (in lemur years) at the Bronx Zoo

Lincoln Zoo has a New Fluffy Friend

On July 19th, the Lincoln Children's Zoo welcomed a brand new baby Red Panda. It's mother was unable to produce enough milk, so zoo keepers have been on constant watch and are hand-raising the cub. ZooBorns is also please to welcome the Lincoln Zoo to it's ever growing family of participating zoos.  Thanks and congratulations.