The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium introduced its newest and cutest edition on Thursday.
Marcy, a two-year-old red panda can now be seen by visitors to the Zoo.
She arrived late last month from the Red River Zoo in Fargo, North Dakota.
She is in the Forest Passage red panda habitat near the front of the park.
Another red panda, Xia, also born at Red River in 2011, has been at the Pittsburgh Zoo since 2012, is also in the habitat.
“The initial goal when receiving a new red panda is to acclimate the animal to the many new experiences her new home provides, from meeting and understanding her new keepers and the daily activity of the space to learning every square inch of her home; location of food, water, and bathrooms; the movement of our guests; and the new sights, sounds, smells,” says Ray Bamrick, Lead Keeper. “It is a great change to her life, and we work very hard at making these changes gradual and comforting.”
Both Marcy and Xia are from the Chinese subspecies of red panda. They have a “darker coat, redder face, and a greater color contrast between the distinctive rings on her tail” compared to the other subspecies, Himalayan.
Red pandas eat 20 to 30 percent of their body weight a day with a majority of that food coming from bamboo.
Red pandas are an endangered species.