The National Zoo in Washington DC has welcomed a new red panda. The Huffington Post reported that Rusty, a male red panda has arrived from the Lincoln Children's Zoo in Nebraska.
The zoo already has another red panda, Shama in the Asia Trail Exhibit.
The National Zoo said on its website about Shama and Rusty's initial interactions:
"The introduction between Rusty and Shama went smoothly, just as keepers expected. Rusty approached Shama curiously and Shama postured so Rusty would know she was in charge. Other than short interactions the pair remained separate for most of that first day.
On the second day keepers saw the pair sharing space and even spied Shama grooming Rusty-a sign that this duo is doing well already."
Rusty looks different from Shama with a blondish color on his hips and tail.
"You can see Rusty and Shama every day in the red panda yard on Asia Trail, next to the Panda House. If you don't see them in the yard they may be soaking up a few minutes of cool air conditioning in their off-exhibit area," says the National Zoo's website.
The National Zoo's website reports that red pandas were actually the first of the panda species to be discovered. The website says that they are "engaging, bamboo-eating animals that resemble raccoons and share parts of their Asian habitats with giant pandas."
Red Pandas are also an endangered species that deserves recognition and attention.
The World Wildlife Fund reports that increases in human populations in places like China and Nepal have been detrimental to the red panda. Their habitats of bamboo forests have been cut down and cleared for timber, fuel and agriculture land which has pushed them to remote and often unprotected mountain areas.
Over 75 percent of potential red panda habitats are outside of protected areas, reports The World Wildlife Fund. The red pandas are protected internationally and in Nepal but not in all the areas they reside.
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