Julien Fonteneau, Fota Island Lead Ranger, joins Brendan on RTÉ Radio 1 to tell listeners about their new arrivals as the search is on for the perfect names for these seriously cute cubs. Listen back above.
On Saturday, 7 June, Fota Wildlife Park welcomed two endangered red panda cubs into the world.
The cubs were born to their mother, Suzi, who arrived at Fota Wildlife Park from Berlin Zoo, and their father, Grga, who was transferred from Zagreb Zoo in Croatia in June 2019.
"They are doing fantastic," Julien says of the proud parents. "She is with the cubs 24/7. Grga, as any male red panda, is not involved at all in rearing the cubs. Mum does all the work, and he is just happy eating bamboo and coming down to see us when we come in."
The County Cork-based conservation centre is particularly excited following the birth of these two cubs, given that their species is endangered.
"These guys would be from Eastern Himalayas and South Western China, so Nepal and China, living in bamboo forest. They are endagered due to loss of habitat, that would be the main threat for these guys."
For now, the cubs will remain with their mother as they nurse, but will become visible to the public in the weeks to come.
In the meantime, Fota Wildlife Park is calling on the public to help name the new cubs. You can apply with your suggestions on their website.
