Buffalo Zoo welcomes pair of endangered red panda cubs

Buffalo Zoo press release & photo

The Buffalo Zoo is thrilled to announce the birth of two red panda cubs, who entered the world together on June 10. The pair was born to mom Himalaya, 3, and dad Mogwai, 5. They are currently being cared for by mom inside their behind-the-scenes nest box. They are not yet visible to the public.

They are the 14th and 15th red panda cubs to be born at the Buffalo Zoo historically, and mark yet another remarkable conservation achievement for the venue.

“This adorable pair of cubs are a prime example of the Buffalo Zoo’s conservation mission, as we work to secure a brighter future for red pandas in our care and in the wild,” said Lisa Smith, president and CEO of the Buffalo Zoo. “Himalaya continues to do an incredible job caring for her two babies, and our dedicated animal care and veterinary teams have diligently monitored their progress along the way. We cannot wait for our community to eventually meet the new additions.”

The cubs, who do not yet have names or a confirmed gender, are the second litter born to Himalaya and Mogwai in as many years, and the circumstances around the births are quite different this time around.

When Himalaya gave birth last year, she was a very young mom by red panda standards, and her surviving cub had to be pulled from the nest box and hand-reared by the Buffalo Zoo's veterinary and animal care teams. That cub, Joy, is now 1 year old and has moved on to a new zoo in hopes that she’ll start a family of her own.

With much more maternal experience this year, Himalaya has successfully nurtured and cared for the two cubs herself with very little intervention from staff. Keepers carefully monitor Himalaya and the cubs via a camera inside the climate-controlled nest box and have been ecstatic with their progress so far.

At nearly 2 months old now, the cubs continue to grow and reached a notable milestone for red panda babies in recent weeks when they opened their eyes for the first time. They will continue to be raised by mom, and when the time comes, will join her outside in the Buffalo Zoo’s red panda habitat.

As for dad Mogwai, he has been separated from Himalaya and the cubs and is still visible regularly on exhibit. Red pandas are solitary animals by nature, and fathers typically do not help raise their young in the wild.

Red pandas are currently considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which makes the cubs’ birth a significant development toward ensuring a future where the species can thrive. The cubs will surely be strong educational ambassadors for their wild counterparts, and when the time comes, hopefully welcome cubs of their own.

Red pandas are native to Asia, specifically the forests of Nepal, Bhutan and southern China.

While they possess the digestive system of a carnivore, they are practically vegetarians, eating mostly leaves, bamboo and similar greenery. While they share the name “panda” with the larger, black-and-white bears, the two species belong to entirely different animal families.

The Buffalo Zoo will provide further updates, including when guests can view the cubs, in the near future.

More about the Buffalo Zoo: Founded in 1875, the Buffalo Zoo is a 501(c)(3) organization and is the third-oldest zoo in the U.S. Each year, the Buffalo Zoo welcomes nearly 400,000 visitors annually and is among the largest tourist attractions in Western New York.

Located on 23.5 acres of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park, the Buffalo Zoo provides interactive and educational family experiences throughout the year. With a diverse collection of wild and exotic animals and more than 320 different species of plants, visitors are introduced to and engulfed by nature each time they visit.

The Buffalo Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with last admission at 4 p.m. General admission tickets can be purchased in advance online, or in-person at the front entrance gate. For more information, visit www.buffalozoo.org.