Red Panda Available for “Adoption”

ROYAL OAK, Mich., October 8, 2009 – The Detroit Zoo is seeing red with the birth of a male red panda born on July 7, 2009. 

The mother arrived in November from another zoo as a mate for the Detroit Zoo’s lone male.  The pairing was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Red Panda Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative management plan to ensure genetically healthy, diverse and self-sustaining populations of threatened and endangered species.

“We are very pleased with the AZA recommendation which allowed us to have our first cub in several years,” said Scott Carter, Director of Conservation and Animal Welfare.

Contrary to popular belief, the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is not a bear but rather belongs to its own family.  Found in the Himalayas and mountainous regions of Myanmar and China, the red panda is about the size of a house cat with soft, rust-colored fur and a long, ringed tail. 

Red pandas are listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. 

Red pandas are skillful and agile climbers, spending most of their time in trees.  They are most active during the early morning and evening hours.  The Detroit Zoo’s red pandas can be spotted hanging from branches or lounging on tree limbs in their wooded habitat across from the tigers.

The red panda is available for “adoption” through the Detroit Zoological Society’s “Adopt” an Animal program.  The gift package includes a plush red panda in a gift box with a personalized adoption certificate and a fact sheet about the animal.  The cost is $45 (regularly $50), which includes shipping and handling.

Proceeds from the “Adopt” an Animal program support the animals at the Detroit Zoo through habitat renovation and veterinary treatment and also supports the SSP program.

To “adopt” a red panda, visit www.detroitzoo.org, call the Customer Service line at (248) 541-5717 ext. 3750, or visit the Membership office at the front of the Detroit Zoo daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through Labor Day (with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August), 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day after Labor Day through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11 for adults 15 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 14; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  Admission is free.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 
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