Endangered Red Panda
Modern zoos not only exhibit animals, they also act as safe houses for many endangered species, and they play a crucial role in preserving our precious genetic diversity. A good example of the conservation work zoos undertake is an international breeding program to try and save the endangered Red Panda. Sydney’s Taronga Zoo has played a very active part in the program, having bred 39 Red Panda cubs since 1977. Taronga also coordinates the Red Panda studbook in the Southern Hemisphere. There has been red pandamonium at the Zoo recently, because two new cubs were born on New Year’s Day. The millennium babies, Joshi and Shaytan (northern Indian words for ‘mischievous’ and ‘troublesome’) are just starting to venture from their nest box and explore their treetop home.
Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)
Red Pandas (also called lesser panda, hun-ho and wah) are smaller relatives of the well-known Giant Panda. They are medium sized, with rusty to dark chestnut fur, white eye and cheek patches, a white muzzle, large pointed ears with white edges, and a long, bushy tail with broad brown and ginger rings. They range across the Himalayan Mountains and foothills of northern India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, and are threatened by illegal hunting and deforestation of their wild habitat. They eat mostly bamboo, and are able to grasp the stalks with a specialized wrist bone called the radial sesamoid. They also eat grasses, roots, berries, mushrooms and the occasional small bird or rodent.
Further information
Taronga Zoo, at Bradleys Head Road, Mosman, is open daily from 9am-5pm. Admission: $16 (adults), $8.50 (children). The Red Pandas cubs, Joshi and Shaytan, are out and about and very active in the cooler weather.