BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama zoo announced the birth of two male red panda cubs in late May.
The animals were born on May 31 at the Birmingham Zoo, officials wrote in a news release on Saturday.
First-time parents Gizmo and Kodo, had been recommended to breed as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Red Panda Species Survival Plan, zoo officials said.
Gizmo, a male, came to the Birmingham Zoo in 2020 from the Sacramento Zoo. The cubs’ mother, Kodo, came to the Alabama facility in the spring of 2022 from the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, Massachusetts, according to the news release.
“This success with our red pandas is the culmination of coordinated efforts from our entire zoo team over the past few years, starting with Gizmo’s arrival in 2020,” Scott Kayser, zoological manager of predators, said in a statement. “While Kodo is a first-time mother, she has been a natural since day one and both cubs are doing well. We are all beyond excited for our new additions and look forward to sharing them with everyone.”
Kodo and her cubs have been adjusting well, zoo officials said.
“We are so proud of Kodo for taking such good care of her cubs,” Mollye Nardi, the zoo’s general curator, said in a statement. “You never know for sure with first-time moms, but her maternal instincts kicked right in and she has been a very attentive mother.”
For the first few months, the cubs will not be visible to guests, zoo officials said. Kodo will likely remain in her nest boxes, out of the view of guests. Gizmo also has been moved to a behind-the-scenes area of the zoo and will remain separate from Kodo and the cubs.
In the wild, red pandas males usually separate from the female after mating, zoo officials said.
Red pandas are currently listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.