Two Red Panda cubs were born at Auckland Zoo in New Zealand. The twins are the fifth and sixth offspring of six-year-old mum Bo (who arrived at Auckland Zoo in mid-2012) and the last of 15-year-old Sagar, who was euthanized in December 2015. He suffered from a spinal condition.
“By watching the nest box cameras we’ve set up, we can see they have both been suckling. We couldn’t ask for a better mum in Bo”, says Carnivore’s team leader Lauren Booth.
Red Pandas develop slowly and are dependent on their mum for at least three months, so it will be some time before visitors see the cubs venturing out of their nest box and around the enclosure with Bo.