Critically Endangered Red Pandas Born In Erie Zoo

A zoo in the U.S. has announced the birth of two new red panda cubs.

Born to two of Erie Zoo’s resident red pandas, Pumori, and Delilah, the male and female siblings are the first litter to be born to one of the most genetically important red pandas already in the zoo at a time the species is seeing numbers plummet worldwide.

Originally from the mountains of south west China near the border with Thailand, red pandas in the wild, of which there are only an estimated 10,000 in the world, typically live from 8 to 10 years.

Most red pandas are between 45 and 60 cm long weighing anywhere between 3.5 and 6 kg.

Still unnamed after being born around five weeks ago, the pair are yet to be revealed to the public, but the fact that one of their parents was ‘Pumori’ was of particular importance according to a zoo spokesperson.

“Pumori is extremely valuable genetically for red pandas who are critically endangered, so this is a really, really exciting development for the world of species survival and pandas,” the spokesperson said.

Erie Zoo’s attending vet, Dr. P.J. Palumbo, has reportedly been caring for the pandas since the day of their birth and will continue to hand rear them, including administering feeds every four hours for the first four months of their life on account of the cubs at present struggling to put on weight.

“They are doing extremely well,” the same spokesperson said in a video posted on the zoo’s Facebook page before continuing “They did just open their eyes within the last week.”

Amy Wu

Amy is a Taiwanese graduate student based in Phoenix, Arizona, currently home in Hsinchu to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic. She has a passion for Hakka culture, and the rights of minorities around the world. She will cover SE Asian news and topics.