SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 24, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah’s Hogle Zoo welcomed its newest resident Friday with the birth of a red panda cub.
The red panda cub was born about 4 p.m. Friday, though zoo officials have yet to determine its gender or size. Zoo officials used high-definition cameras to observe 4-year-old red panda Priya give birth without interfering with the natural process.
Priya arrived at Utah’s Hogle Zoo in June 2022 from Colorado’s Pueblo Zoo on a breeding recommendation with father MowMow from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Red Panda Species Survival Plan, zoo officials stated on social media.
“This genetically diverse cub’s birth is important to red pandas since they are considered endangered. Red pandas have experienced a 40% decline in populations in the last decade,” the post states.
Priya and the yet-to-be-named cub are healthy and “meeting all the important milestones we look for after birth,” the post continues, including “Priya grooming the baby, Priya eating her placenta, and the cub moving around and making sounds.”
Priya was pregnant with the cub for about four months (132 days), zoo officials said. The mother will care for the cub alone.
Both Priya and MowMow have had successful cubs with other partners at other zoos, the post states.
Zoo officials say regular social media “CUBdates” are planned, as the red panda cub will not be on display until late summer.
It can take up to six weeks for red panda cubs to be mobile, zoo officials said.
