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ZooNooz Article - September 2006
Redhead wanted
"Mature panda seeks breeding female. Must be welltravelled,
carnivorous and a redhead!"
BRIGITTE DUBA reports on the arrival of a new Red Panda.
Photograph Annette Petersen
If compatibility strikes then we could soon be celebrating another great success. The zoo's Red Panda breeding program already boasts 41 cubs born since 1977.
It's time to cut the apron strings
again for Taronga Zoo's resident
breeding male Red Panda, Mayhem,
who has been temporarily sharing
his lodgings with his 14-year-old
mother, Mishra.
But this lonely heart is not
new to the game of love. Mayhem
has already fathered two offspring
three years ago with female Sogal,
who has since joined the breeding
program at Adelaide Zoo. The cubs
have also moved on and now reside
at Mogo Zoo.
To ensure a healthy gene pool,
Mayhem will soon be introduced to
a newly arrived female from Erie
Zoo, Pennsylvania, USA.
If compatibility strikes then we
could soon be celebrating another
great success. The zoo's Red Panda
breeding program already boasts
41 cubs born since 1977.
Red Panda |
When we think of pandas,
we usually think of the majestic
bamboo-eating black and white
Giant Panda, but in fact, the Red
Panda was the original. It was
discovered and named in 1821,
almost 40 years before the Giant
Panda. Whilst the Red Panda also
enjoys a bamboo meal, it is a true
carnivore. At the zoo, the pandas
have been known to kill and eat
local strays, ranging from possums
to water dragons, that wander into
the exhibit, leaving behind only the
bare bones as tell-tale signs of their
late-night snack.
In 2003 a wild storm snapped the top off the tree inside the Red Pandas' exhibit.
Red Pandas are fully grown
by two years of age. The life span
is usually about 15 years, mainly
determined by the rate of toothwear
from their tough bamboo diet.
In captivity, they have been known
to live up to 21 years of age.
Their distinctive red coat offers
perfect camouflage in the lichen
encrusted tree hollows in forests of
the Himalayas. The pandas curl up
like a ball and look like clumps of
rusty coloured moss amongst the
white lichen while they sleep.
In 2003 a wild storm snapped
the top off the tree inside the Red
Pandas' exhibit. A giant branch
landed on the exhibit wall and
created a walkway to freedom
for Mayhem and his friends.
Fortunately an umbrella-wielding
zoo visitor carefully blocked his
grand escape route while another
less adventurous Red Panda
found refuge in the arms of his
zookeeper.
Mayhem's immediate future
rests with the attractions of a
pretty new redhead.
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