On July the 16th, in the Paradise Wildlife park in Hertfordshire, UK, a red panda cub was born. This is a symbol of hope for the endangered species. Currently, fewer than 2 500 remain in the wild.
The panda cub’s name is Little Red and the keepers are yet to establish the sex of the baby, but hope to determine it when Little Red is about six months old.
Little Red’s mother Tilly and father Nam Pang (who sadly passed away a month before Little Red was born) were brought together as a part of the European Ex-Situ Breeding Program. The organization's goal is to create a safety net for endangered species in the wild.
The red pandas have to face threats like deforestation and illegal pet trade every day in the wild. However, when Disney Pixar released their animated feature film Turning Red earlier in 2022 the interest for the red pandas got bigger.
Happenings like the birth of Little Red create hope for the comeback of species which have been endangered by human interference.
