Video: Auckland Zoo
A little earlier than anticipated was the birth of a Red Panda at Auckland Zoo on the 1st of December.
First-time parents
The cub is the 17th Red Panda born at the New Zealand zoo and the first offspring for four-year-old mum Khela, who came last year from Hamilton Zoo to Auckland, and for three-year-old dad Ramesh.
According to the zoo, Khela is “proving to be an exeptional first-time mum”.
Climate change
In the southern hemisphere, Red Pandas are usually born at the end of December and in January.
“It’s never possible to predict exactly when animals will breed and give birth”, says Lauren Booth, the Zoo’s Carnivore team leader. “This year it became warmer much earlier than usual, so this could have been an environmental cue for Khela and Ramesh to breed earlier than we anticipated – something we may see more often with climate change.”
Read more
Check out the whole story with photos of the Red Panda cub at Auckland Zoo’s website.
