Banham Zoo staff 'delighted' after birth of rare baby red panda

The baby panda was born in July. Credit: Banham Zoo

Staff at Banham Zoo in Norfolk have just welcomed the arrival of a very precious new red panda cub.

The baby was born to the zoo’s pair of red pandas, Jasper and Maggie, back in July but hasn't been given a name yet.

The pair also produced a female cub in 2016.

Keepers say that mum Maggie is doing an "excellent job" caring for her offspring, and the cub has already started to explore its surroundings.

  • Watch a video of the cub exploring its new home

It's expected that the cub will remain with his parents at Banham for at least the next year, before eventually being transferred to another zoo to hopefully mate with a female.

Red pandas are an endangered species and it's believed that their numbers in the wild have declined by about 50% over the last two decades.

"We are delighted with our latest addition," Animal Manager, Mike Woolham said.

"The conservation of the animals in our care is of paramount importance to us and we hope that our latest arrival may throw the spotlight on the plight of this species and others under severe threat in South-east Asia”.