The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park in New York welcomed a baby red panda, who made his public debut on Thursday, according to USA Today.
Zhin-Li was born on June 18 weighing a third of a pound and has grown to a little over two pounds. On Thursday, five weeks after his birth, the zoo made an announcement about the new panda, waiting to ensure the cub and his mother were healthy.
"It's a very big milestone in his life and our care of him," Dave Orndorff, the zoo's general curator, said. "Every day we get a little more and more excited about his growth and his progress."
The new panda is the first of his species to be born at the zoo, which is the fifth oldest zoo in the country.
Zhin-Li's eyes have opened, though he needs another few weeks before he gains his footing and then seven months before he will be adult sized, Orndorff said.
"He's sort of stumbling around in the nest box," Orndorff said. "He tries to crawl a little bit on the shavings on the bottom of the box."
Red pandas are an endangered species and are distantly related to the giant black and white pandas. There are currently less than 10,000 red pandas worldwide. Red pandas generally grow to reach between seven and 14 pounds and have a tail similar to that of a raccoon.
The bears eat bamboo, berries, blossoms and bird eggs. Red pandas live in the mountains in Nepal, northern Burma and central China. The pandas are most active at night, spending most of the day sleeping in trees.
Zhin-Li was born and bred at the New York zoo. His father is Xiao-Li, another resident of the zoo.
"From nutritional requirements to just learning how to be a little red panda, he has a great teacher in his mom," Steve Contento, the executive director of the zoo, said.
There are about 175 red pandas in zoos and only 60 of the kind living in the Binghamton zoo.
"As an organization, we look at what are the animals that need help and what animals can we help," Orndorff said.
Video of the baby red panda.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
