Two baby red pandas were born in July at Lille Zoo and are now in good health, announced the town hall on Thursday, October 6, welcoming a “
very rare
” event for the structure, committed to the conservation of this endangered species.
The two newborns, a male and a female, were born on July 17 and will remain "
for a few more weeks, sheltered in the nest with their mother, Mambo
", specifies in a press release the town hall of Lille, zoo owner.
“Very good news for the European breeding program and the conservation of the species”
“
We will have to wait a little longer
” to see them but “
all the indicators show that they are doing well
”, she specifies, welcoming “
very good news for the European breeding program (EEP) and conservation. of the species
”.
“
We are really delighted, this is the first time that we have had a double birth at the Lille zoo
”, rejoiced with AFP Stanislas Dendievel, deputy mayor of Lille delegate for Nature.
Only one other birth had taken place at the zoo, in 2009. The town hall invited Internet users to vote on its site to name the newcomers.
The father, Ruaridh, had joined the zoological park of Lille at the beginning of 2021 in order to "
reconstitute a couple
" with the mother, Mambo, then alone for a year, he recalled.
Ruaridh succeeded Pong, the first male introduced into the zoo for this purpose, who died at the age of 17.
"
Pong had been the father in 2009 of a small female, quickly left for the zoo of the arrow
", in the Sarthe, specified Stanislas Dendievel.
The program for red pandas at Zoo de Lille started in 2005. Ruaridh is now three years old and Mambo is six, he added.
“
The babies will stay with their parents for a year before being sent
”, as they approach adulthood, “
to other European zoos
”.
Threatened by the destruction of its natural environment in the foothills of the Himalayas and by poaching, the red panda is a protected species, classified as "
endangered
" on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN).
“
There would remain today less than 10,000 red pandas
” in the wild, and “
it is estimated that within 30 years, this population will have decreased by another 10%.
In China, this species has lost nearly 40% of its numbers over the past 50 years
,” the city further specifies.