Hello there — are you a boy or girl?
Melissa Nightingale
Wellington Zoo staff are finally set to find out the sex of their red panda cub — three months after its birth.
The cub was caught on camera this week emerging from its nest box for the first time, something which has keepers and zoo visitors excited.
Animal care manager Jo Richardson said now the 12-week-old was venturing out of the nest, it was a suitable time for a general health check on it and to discover its sex.
“We’re very hands-off with this species when they give birth because the cub will stay in the nest for the first 12 weeks,” she said.
Keepers wanted to make sure there was minimal disturbance as the mother and cub used the time to bond, which was especially important for the first-time mother.
“We’re also very hands-off to ensure successful rearing of the cub to the mother. We do visual checks once to twice a day.”
Once the cub has been sexed, the Red Panda Network in Nepal, one of the zoo’s conservation partners, will name it.
As the cub gets older, it will venture more around the habitat under its mother’s watchful eye.
“She will let the cub do what it needs to do . . . if the cub is unsure the mother will go down to reassure it and take it back to the nest.”
Next the mother will start teaching her cub how to climb trees.
Richardson said red pandas were “incredible animals”.
Evolved to survive in the Himalayas and similar harsh climates, their thick, red fur keeps them warm and repels rain.
While they may look more like raccoons, they share a name with giant pandas because of their bamboo diet.
Red pandas, which are endangered, are solitary animals and only come together for breeding. A decision has not been made yet as to what will happen to the cub when For video go to nzherald.co.nz it is old enough to leave its mother.
Wellington Zoo is part of an international breeding programme. Keepers expect to find out the sex of the cub today.