Chester Zoo A first for Chester

[Nisha]

The zoo's newest Red Panda cub had her first vet check today and was sexed as a female She is the first ever female to be born at the zoo and weighed a healthy 778g.

Hopefully she can stay on at Chester and become the new breeding female as her mother is fairly old and well represented with six cubs in 4 years now.

Chester Zoo staff get up close and personal with new arrival (From Wirral Globe)

 

[Maisie]

Great news!!

 

[SMR]

She is the first ever female to be born at the zoo...

I'm finding that hard to believe. In all those years, the first female?!

 

[Javan Rhino]

Were all six of her cubs born at Chester, or were some born at a previous collection.

 

[bongorob]

2006 1.0
2007 2.0
2008 2.0
2010 0.1
all 6 born at Chester.

 

[Pygathrix]

And prior to this breeding pair, none had been born at the zoo for 50 years

 

[SMR]

And prior to this breeding pair, none had been born at the zoo for 50 years

A number of sources (including one dated from the 1960s) indicate the zoo had considerable success breeding red pandas, although no precise dates are given. The fifty-year figure came from media releases issued when this pair first had young, and they're recent enough to be found on-line.

I'm going to have to dig through the old newsletters and reports to try to find some dates; the first female claim still seems quite remarkable.

 

[Red Panda]

Im so happy that Lushui and Pali are great breeders and look forward very much to see the new female baby make her first steps into the enclosure

 

[adrian1963]

Visited yesterday unfortunatly no sign of the cub but both mother and father were very active in the enclosure

 

[bongorob]

Had a quick search and red pandas bred in 1956 and 1958, 2 cubs both times but no sex given. A breeding was also listed in IZYB volume 1 in 1959. No details as to how many, or which sex.

There may be other breedings before 1959 that I've missed.