After more than 13 years, two Red Panda cubs were born at Austria’s Salzberg Zoo from parents Banja and Eros. The adorable pair looks so fluffy and cuddly!
Sadly, mother panda, Banja, died in July. Since she obviously cannot care for them, the two are being hand-reared by the staff.
Red Pandas are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are native to mountain forests in China, Nepal, and Myanmar. Due to the increasing human population, the pandas are losing ground in their natural habitat.
"As their forest habitat is broken into smaller and smaller chunks, the risk of inbreeding within smaller populations increases," according to Zoo Borns.
For the Salzberg Zoo, having the two cubs has a great impact to the world's effort in maintaining a genetically diverse Red Panda population.
