Edinburgh Zoo's red pandas move into new enclosure together

Edinburgh Zoo's red pandas have officially moved into a new pad together.

One of the new Red Pandas is welcomed to Edinburgh Zoo. Picture: RZSS/Katie Paton

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After arriving at the city’s zoo on Valentine’s Day, the pair were housed in separate enclosures to give them time to settle.

They have now moved into a new enclosure together near the front gate, thanks to a funding boost from the Postcode Lottery last year.

Alison MacLean, Head Carnivore Keeper at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo said: “We are incredibly grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for the additional £25,000 funding in 2016.

“It allowed us to create the new enclosure that Ginger and Bruce are now sharing.

“They have settled in well and are getting on great. We are really pleased to see them taking advantage of the new space and exploring it.

“The support of players of People’s Postcode Lottery has helped us bring this pair together and provide a great enclosure for them. The new couple will help play a vital role in the conservation of this increasingly threatened species.”

The red panda continues to be listed as an endangered species, thanks to loss of habitation, poaching and accidental trapping. There are thought to fewer than 10,000 still living in the wild.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) makes annual species support payments to the Red Panda Endangered Species Programme through the Forest Guardian Support Programme, which protects red pandas in their native habitats in the wild.

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