The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is celebrating the birth of its 100th red panda cub. The new panda cub is the first for Marcy, and it’s a significant milestone for the zoo’s conservation breeding program.
Conservation Efforts
Red pandas are native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, where habitat loss and fragmentation have led to declining wild populations. The Cincinnati Zoo has been a leader in conservation and breeding for the species since the early 1980s.
The zoo’s zoological manager, Julie Grove, said the surviving cub is doing well and has been observed nursing. Marcy and the cub will remain in the nest box for the coming weeks as they grow and develop.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) makes breeding recommendations based on genetics and program capacities. Marcy was sent to Cincinnati as part of the program to breed with Zuko, a first-time dad.
Original reporting: WLWT Cincinnati — read the source article.
