This week I’ve found it difficult to decide what to write this blog about. Not because I was stumped on ideas but because I actually had several ideas up my sleeve!
However, I think there’s one topic you’d like to be updated on since his arrival at the park. It just means my other topics will just have to wait for another time! If you haven’t seen him already then it’s about time you get yourself down to the park to see him for yourself. He really is quite a handsome young chap. If you haven’t already guessed, I’m talking about Kai our new male Red Panda!
Kai Meets Mai
Recently just turned 1, Kai arrived with us from Blackpool Zoo and so far so good! We couldn’t have asked for things to have gone smoother. He has settled nicely into his new enclosure and is very confident in coming over to the keepers and even saying hello to the Red Panda experience guests.
For me, the real test was going to be when boy meets girl. Being the Essex girl Mai is and being crowned the cutest animal at WWP during the lockdown, she still remains highly sophisticated and has an impeccable palate on her. Although, she doesn’t demand pink lady apples quite as much as she used to. After all variety is the spice of life! So that means any man that comes into her domain must meet certain standards.
Come forth Kai! Don’t worry they are easy to tell apart with lots of differences to look out for,
- Size- Kai is already a lot bigger than Mai.
- Tails- Mai has a much longer and differently shaped tail to Kai (Mai is currently going through a moult so hers isn’t looking as bushy usual).
- Face- Kai has a rounder face than Mai, he is also lighter in colour and not as dark as Mai on his forehead.
Red Pandas- A Dating History
She must have had a feeling of deja’vu when she first set eyes on him. If you’ve had the privilege to follow her story at Wingham you will know how unlucky in love she has been. It started 8 years ago with Jasper. He was her first lover who was moved to Banham Zoo following the EEP (European Endangered Species Program) recommendations.
Raymundo and Yuzu her 2nd and 3rd boyfriends, husbands, man callers or whatever she deems them as sadly, both passed away. Hopefully for her sake Kai and Mai will live happily together and she has found ‘the one’.
At this current moment in time she probably sees him as a baby anyway. They don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re between 15-18 months, so there’s plenty of time for them to get to know each other and no need to rush into things. Providing we are given the green light by the studbook keeper it would be amazing to see baby pandas at the park once again in the not too distant future. So watch this space!
Conservation for Red Pandas
Studbooks are what help zoos ensure that the animals which they keep and breed remain of the highest possible genetic calibre. Through working closely with other zoos and organisations we can help make a positive impact on the captive population of a number of endangered species. To do this we share information and adhere to breeding recommendations. The most common of these programs are the European Endangered Species Programs (EEP), European Studbooks (ESB) and International Studbooks (ISB). At present we are working with 21 managed programs (7 x ESB species & 14 x EEP species).
Red Pandas are an umbrella species. Efforts to preserve them and improve their surroundings and well-being have a positive but indirect effect on other creatures inhabiting the same environment. Conservationists use the red panda’s welfare as an indicator for the overall success of ecosystems in the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf Forest.
Other animals also reap conservation benefits from the panda. These include hundreds of bird species, leopards and yellow throated martens and many of these animals are unique to red panda habitat.
They are sadly listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because the wild population is estimated at fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and continues to decline. This is due to habitat loss, fragmentation, poaching and inbreeding depression. However, they are incredibly important to their ecosystem because their activities contribute to healthier forests. These beautiful creatures have just as much right to live on this planet undisturbed as we humans do.
Did You Know?
Red pandas can poop the equivalent of their body weight in one week.
The Chinese word for red panda is hun-ho, meaning “fire fox.”
To conserve energy when temperatures drop, red pandas can put themselves in a ‘torpor,’. Torpor is a deep sleep that slows their metabolic rate.
