Visitors and residents of Chester with a love of nature will welcome news of a new arrival at the city’s award-winning zoo.
A female red panda has joined the ranks of the incredible animals at Chester Zoo as part of an important breeding programme to preserve the charismatic species.
Akashi is two years old and came to Chester from her former home in Blackpool Zoo. Now, conservationists are keeping their fingers crossed that cubs could be on the cards after Akashi hit it off with Koda, Chester Zoo’s resident red panda male.
Since her arrival at the zoo, Akashi has been investigating and settling into her new home. Displaying considerable confidence, she has been exploring the enclosure, foraging for food, climbing trees and chomping bamboo, a panda dietary favourite.
Team Manager at Chester, Dave White, explained that while red pandas are calm and shy animals, they are also extremely territorial. As a result, keepers wasted little time in introducing the potential creature companions. Early indications have proved positive, with natural panda behaviour like playful chasing and stand-offs over favoured sleep areas and advantageous tree branches taking place.
While native to the mountainous regions of Myanmar, India, Nepal, Bhutan and south China, under 10,000 red pandas are believed to exist in the wild. In the last 20 years, their number has declined by 40%. As such, the animals are classed as endangered, making them a threatened species in immediate need of direct conservation action.