Adorable red panda pictured exploring his new home at Bristol Zoo
The cute animal has been welcomed to the Bristol Zoo Project from Whipsnade.
Bristol Zoo has welcomed an adorable new resident, an endangered red panda named Nilo. Nilo, who came from Whipsnade, is getting used to his new home in Bristol that has been specially designed and features a large cedar tree for him to climb.
Not only is Nilo popular with the staff and visitors, but he also plays a crucial role in a European breeding programme for red pandas. Red pandas are native to the Himalayan mountain range through Nepal, India and China, but are threatened by habitat loss and poaching.
We have put together a picture gallery of Nilo in his new Bristol home below. It's believed red panda numbers have dropped by 40 percent over the past 50 years, with only 2,500 left in the wild.
Bristol Zoological Society, which owns and runs the Bristol Zoo Project, is part of efforts to protect and conserve this endangered species. Will Walker, curator of mammals at Bristol Zoo Project, said: "We are very excited to have Nilo here with us at Bristol Zoo Project.
''He has settled in really well so far and has enjoyed exploring his new habitat. We are thrilled to bring the species back to Bristol and the South West for visitors to enjoy and observe.
"Red pandas are most active at dawn and dusk, which is known as being crepuscular. Their red or orange-brown coat, white markings on their face, and bushy tails with red and buff ring patterns, help them blend in amongst red moss and white lichen-covered trees.
"'They also have what's often described as an extra thumb, which is a big, modified wrist bone that they use to climb trees and grab bamboo stems."
Bristol Zoo Project is working tirelessly to help endangered animals. The zoo is in its first stage which will see the creation of a new Central African forest habitat. It will become home to the zoo's existing group of critically endangered western lowland gorillas.
They'll be joined by endangered cherry-crowned mangabeys, a type of West African monkey; critically endangered slender-snouted crocodiles, and endangered African grey parrots. The zoo, which is home to a variety of animals from around the world including giraffes, cheetahs, zebras, wolves, bears, lynx, deer, ostrich, gelada baboons and lemurs, will stay open while the work is being done.
The pictures below show Nilo in his new home in Bristol.
Nilo’s name means blue in Nepalese
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He travelled 135 miles from Whipsnade Zoo to his brand-new home in Bristol
(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)2 of 12
He was born at Whipsnade in 2020, to mum Tashi and dad Blue
(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)3 of 12
