Red pandas in Australia successfully give birth for the 1st time in 2yrs

February 5, 2024 12:04 AM

There are about 50 red pandas in Australia, but none have successfully given birth in two years until now. The new cub at Altina Wildlife Park near Wagga Wagga is the first born in Australia for two years — and with only 10,000 red pandas left worldwide, breeding programs like it are key to survival of the species.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (6 comments total)

Red, or lesser pandas have a sort of sweet spot in my heart, though I'm surprised to hear about the difficulties in breeding them in Australia. Way back in 2005, a lesser panda here by the name of Futa-kun made the news for, well, standing up on its hind legs. Cute animal, doing something quirky? That was pretty much all that was needed for media sensation. My first date with Mrs. Ghidorah was essentially going to the zoo with her coworkers to see Futa, and the panda is still living at Chiba zoo, about a five minute bike ride from where Mrs. Ghidorah and I ended up buying a house.

The reason for surprise about the breeding difficulty? Well, aside from standing on his hind legs, Futa-kun's other superpower is siring a lot of offspring (scroll down to the fourth picture to see their massive family tree as of 2018). He, and his late partner Chi-chi are pretty much responsible for the entire zoo-based lesser panda population of Japan.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:22 AM on February 5 [4 favorites]

In this economy?
posted by amanda at 8:50 AM on February 5

RED PANDAS
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 12:30 PM on February 5

I don't have data for last winter, but America's favorite red panda, @darthbluesky, emerged from hibernation on 21 March 2022.
posted by neuron at 2:12 PM on February 5

Breeding programs in zoos do not help endangered species. Their purpose is to attract visitors.
From the Journal of Applied Ecology: Lead researcher Dr Paul Dolman said: “Our research challenges the assumption that when a species is perilously close to extinction in the wild, it is always a good idea to set up a captive breeding population … Without conservation in the wild there is no point in captive breeding.”
posted by mygraycatbongo at 9:30 AM on February 6

People who want to make a difference can support groups such as the International Primate Protection League, the Born Free Foundation, and other organizations that work to preserve habitats, not habits. We should also help nonprofit sanctuaries, like The Elephant Sanctuary, Performing Animal Welfare Society and The Wild Animal Sanctuary that rescue and care for exotic animals but don’t sell or breed them.
posted by mygraycatbongo at 10:11 AM on February 6