Keepers' delight as first ever red panda born at safari park
West Midland Safari Park says an endangered red panda cub has been born – the first ever at the tourist attraction.
An endangered red panda cub has been born at West Midlands Safari Park for the first time in the attraction’s history.
The breed is under threat in the wild with numbers falling because of habitat loss, as well as hunting, poaching and smuggling rising.
But keepers at the Bewdley attraction suspected three-year-old Mei Lin was due to give birth after seeing her settle into one of her nest boxes mid-June.
Their suspicions were confirmed and they have since spotted glimpses of a tiny red panda cub and were lucky enough to capture the cub on camera, when Mei Lin moved nest boxes.
Discovery Trail keeper Kyle Wingfield said: “This is both a hugely exciting, but also nerve-wracking time for us.
"It’s fantastic that Mei Lin and our male, Sanka, have successfully mated, after only being introduced just over a year ago. After a gestation period of four and a half months, the cub arrived, making it the first red panda cub we’ve ever had at the park in our 50-year history.
“While this is incredible news, it’s also important to remember that this is Mei Lin’s first time at being a mum and she is doing a great job so far, but it is still very early days.”
He added: “Red pandas are listed as ‘endangered’ in the wild with fewer than ten thousand individuals left, making every birth that more important.
“Whilst things look promising so far, with Mei Lin showing all the right, maternal signs, we will continue to monitor her from a safe distance allowing her the space, privacy and time she needs, as she adapts to being a new mum.”
Although keepers will be watching the cub’s progress at a distance for now, when the cub is around three months old, they will perform a health check and will find out what sex it is.
The arrival of the park’s first red panda cub is another milestone moment after the birth of its first Sumatran tiger cub last week, as well as a Grevy’s zebra foal, barasingha fawns and a lowland anoa calf being born earlier in the year.
Red pandas spend the first few months of their lives growing in their dens with their mothers, therefore it is unlikely that guests will be able to see the cub until it is about four months old, when it will start emerging to explore its new home.