A female red panda born at a Scottish zoo is healthy and doing well, according to her keepers.
The kit, who has yet to be named, was born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) Edinburgh Zoo on July 17.
The RZSS veterinary team have now conducted her first health check and said she is doing well.
The youngster, who zoo staff say will be named shortly, lives with her mother Ginger and her father Bruce.
Donald Gow, living collections operations manager at Edinburgh Zoo, said: “We are very pleased to see Ginger and Bruce’s new kit is doing well and has had her first successful health check-up with the vets.
“She looks very cute but they also have a feisty side, so we are currently trying to think of a name that will suit her personality.”
Red pandas, which are more genetically similar to racoons than to giant black-and-white pandas, are classed as endangered by wildlife experts, with an estimated 10,000 or less left in the wild.
They are threatened by poachers and the destruction of their habitat due to deforestation.
They are native to the Eastern Himalayas and south-western China.
Currently, there are five red pandas living at the zoo.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here