Wiltshire wildlife park welcomes rare red panda twins

A rare pair of adorable red panda twins have made their first public appearance at Longleat.

The 10-week-old cubs were born earlier in the summer but are only now beginning to venture outside.

They are the first to have been born to parents Emma and Lionel as part of a breeding programme for endangered species at the Wiltshire safari park.

Keepers say mum Emma is proving to be an exceptional first-time parent and are delighted to be looking after the twosome.

“Both cubs are doing really well, Emma is a great mum and she has been looking after them fantastically,” said Sam Allworthy.

“Although we have yet to name them, we have been able to do their first health checks and can confirm they’re both females.

“These are the seventh and eighth red pandas to have been born here at Longleat. Previous cubs have gone on to collections all over Europe and have even had cubs of their own,” she added.

The twin cubs are spending their days eating bamboo and sleeping.

Red panda population numbers have dwindled as they face the threat of habitat loss, deforestation and poaching.

It's thought there may be as few as 2,500 living in the wild and they have been classed as "endangered" since 2008.