Red panda "super hard to give birth" gives birth in the zoo

Red pandas are a notoriously difficult species to breed and are in danger of extinction. In the past two years, no panda pair has successfully given birth in Australia.

According to ABC News, a newborn red panda has just been born at Altina wildlife park , west of Wagga Wagga city, NSW state. Zoo staff said this is the first red panda cub born in Australia in the past two years.

Red panda mother and child – (Photo: Rebecca Surian).

Ms. Rebecca Surian – animal manager and operations manager at Altina park – said red pandas are often sensitive during mating and are easily affected by many external factors that make it difficult for this species to reproduce. Therefore, the birth of a baby panda is especially surprising.

She said this was the first time the mother panda, named Rani, gave birth to a cub at the age of 9 and was good news for an endangered species.

“We are extremely excited about this new cub… We have never bred red pandas, and have only raised this species for 1 year,” she shared.

She described the baby panda, which has not yet been named, as sleeping most of the day and when awake often “whistling softly” like a kitten.

In mid-December last year, Altina wildlife park also welcomed the birth of three black and white furred lemurs, also an endangered species.

Talking about the zoo’s efforts to conserve species, Ms. Surian said they simply let everything follow nature.

“We don’t intervene unless absolutely necessary… We let things happen naturally,” she told ABC News.

Newborn red panda – (Photo: Rebecca Surian).

Red pandas can live 23 years – (Photo: Rebecca Surian).

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