Thursday 17 April 2014

ZOO TIMES: Baby Red Pandas

Red Pandas Red Pandas Red Pandas Red Pandas Red Pandas Red Pandas

There is nothing cuter than seeing a couple of nine month old Red Pandas. For the first time we managed to catch them playing as they were brought back onto the exhibit at the Detroit Zoo on our last visit. Ta-Shi (mum) and Shifu (dad) had their first litter together in June of 2013, they were first announced as male, but in fact they are both girls and are spending their time occasionally outside in their exhibit before they both go off to another zoo for breeding programs.

As Red Pandas are on the vulnerable species list due to deforestation, they are selected into breeding programs as soon as they are born and despite their name, they aren't closely related to the giant Panda. Slightly larger than you domestic kitty, they mainly snack on bamboo but are omnivorous creatures. Typically they are largely sedentary begins and enjoy their own company and normally when we visit in the summer months they are lost high up in the trees so to be able to seeing all four of them out and playing, was a very rare treat indeed. Contrary to the norm, Shifu a first time dad has apparently been a bit of a hands on father with his babies, mother is especially playful as you can see in many of the photographs she actively plays.

Aren't they all just adorable?!

24 comments:

  1. I love red pandas they are so cute! brilliant photos of them, were u able to get up close to them or did u have a long lens on ur camera??

    bambiroux.blogspot.com

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    1. I just have a bridge camera so sadly no long lens for me, I must have been about 6-8 or less meters away due to the shape of their enclosure.

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  2. These little guys are adorable!

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  3. OMG! Too cute! I've not been to a zoo for so many years. I think we're going to visit one in the Summer hopefully x

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  4. Oh my gosh!!!!! Absolutely adorable!! All your zoo posts want me to to go so bad!

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    1. You should! I kind of wish we lived even closer so I could go even more!

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  5. Oh my gosh they're so cute! Red pandas are my favourite animal ever, I remember when I saw one at London Zoo and it was love at first sight! x

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  6. They are indeed adorable! OMG! I want to hug them so bad right now!

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  7. Aww, hey little friends! I'm going to agree with you - yes. They are very, very adorable.

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  8. These are so adorably cute! To be honest, I don't know much about such specie... Red pandas are quite interesting animals though.

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  9. Red Pandas are so kickass, they're so much better than regular pandas.

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  10. They are adorable! So cute! x

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  11. Oh my god, I love red pandas so much. I was so lucky to see them a few years ago in real life at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Centre and only last night was watching videos on Youtube of them (my favourite is the one with the red panda in the snow playing with a pumpkin). These are adorable.

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  12. Red pandas are like my favorite thing ever. So cute!

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  13. I just love red pandas. They are so freaking cute! :)

    Debi x

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  14. So adorable!!! I have never seen a red panda before. xx

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  15. dying of cuteness overload right now! red pandas are on my top favourites list in the zoo. We have a pair in Prague Zoo and they had a baby last year, but the little one has been sent somewhere else, so we're back to 2. They're the best in the world though. If wild animals could be pets, I'd have a red panda.

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  16. They are sooo cute!
    I've been rifling through the many many zoo pictures I have and putting some animal themed posts together (I obviously did not at all get the idea from you... haha)

    It's nice to hear of the breeding programs. I know some people are against the zoo, but I love going and I would rather see the animal in a realistic interpretation of their environment that never have the opportunity to see them again, ever.

    I'm trying to think now, if giant pandas have tails but I don't think they do. I google it and every picture I can find is from the front haha, but I don't think so. I've seen a giant panda and they are also amazing creatures.

    More zoo times posts!!

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    1. That's one of the reasons why I think it's important to have the zoo membership, because of the breeding programs and rehoming animals that had been kept as "pets" that otherwise need the programs to survive. And no, I don't think Pandas have tails - hence why the red panda is more closely related to the weasel than a Panda panda.

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  17. I've never seen these before, but they are gorgeous! I'm not against zoos at all, breeding programes are important and as long as the animals are being treated well I think it's a good thing. Some would argue that certain animals are even better off in zoos, as in the wild they are at risk or being hunted, which sadly is probably true.

    x Hayley-Eszti | www.hayleyeszti.blogspot.com

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  18. I love red pandas they are adorable!
    Lauren | OhHay Blogs!
    xxx

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