LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Zoo is welcoming a brand new addition to its team of animal ambassadors! Meet Sundara.
On Tuesday, the zoo announced guests will now be able to visit Sundara, a beautiful red panda that is less than a year old.
He will be located in the former snowy owl exhibit, near Wallaroo Walkabout and next to the Splash Park.
Jessica Cunningham, assistant curator of mammals, said red pandas are crepuscular animals. This means Sundara is more active at dawn and dusk.
Although you may think red pandas are part of the bear family, they are actually part of an animal family that shares common traits with raccoons, weasels and skunks, officials said
It's been a while since Louisville residents have had the chance to see a red panda at the zoo! In fact, zoo officials said the endangered species hasn't called the Louisville Zoo home since the 1970s.
Cunningham said Sundara is a very bold animal and really enjoys learning, training and exploring his new home.
Red pandas primarily eat various species of bamboo. He will also get a nutritional biscuit with vitamins. Cunningham said while Sundara trains with staff, he's also given small treats like fruits. Right now his favorite treat is grapes!
She said Sundara loves to climb all over his exhibit and hide, he tends to stay up high, similar to how he would act in his natural habitat.
"Typically out in his natural habitat, in regions like Nepal, they'll be in really dense bamboo forests so they like to stay really high up," Cunningham said.
Sundra comes to Louisville from the Kansa City Zoo in Kansas City, Missouri. He currently weighs eight pounds, officials said, adding that male red pandas can weigh up to 14 pounds.
“There are so many fun things to learn about this unique species that we haven’t seen at the Zoo since the early days,” said zoo Director Dan Maloney. "We are very excited to have red pandas back at the Zoo and to be sharing this species with Kentuckiana."
Red pandas are listed as endangered and decreasing by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Their major threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, habitat degradation, and threats from humans like hunting and illegal pet trade.
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