Flamingo Land celebrates birth of endangered red panda cub at zoo

The birth of a red panda cub at a zoo in North Yorkshire has been hailed as "hugely important" for the conservation of the species.

The new arrival at Flamingo Land, near Malton, was announced on social media.

The zoo said the newborn had been discovered by keepers on the morning on 30 June.

Born to 11-year-old parents Tai Jang and Bai Jiao the, as yet unsexed cub, is the fourth successful birth of this endangered species at the zoo. 

Park executive Ross Snipp said "All births are exciting, but even more so when a species is threatened in the wild. 

"Our red panda pair has been at the zoo for 10 years and has proven to be very successful parents. 

"Their other three cubs have left us to continue the breeding program at zoos in Sweden, the Netherlands and Wales, all coordinated by the European Ex-Situ Breeding Programme (EEP)". 

Red pandas are found throughout the Himalayan mountain range from Nepal to China. 

Their population in the wild is still decreasing and they are threatened by habitat loss and hunting, the zoo said.

In a post on social media, the zoo said: "At Flamingo Land we are proud to continue contributing to the conservation of red pandas in the world as they are listed as endangered species, so every birth of a red panda is hugely important."

The cubs, which are heavily reliant on their mother in their early days, do not leave the nest box in their first couple of months.

Keepers are hoping to carry out a health check in the next couple of weeks, where they will be able to check whether it is male or female and vaccinate it.

Visitors should be able to spot the cub out and about towards the end of the summer.

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