COLCHESTER Zoo has announced the arrival of two red panda cubs. 

Mum Liwei had the cubs on June 18 and this is her third litter with male panda An An. 

The animal care team had noticed Liwei spending more time in her nest box so were aware that the birth was imminent, upon arriving to check on the pandas on June 18 they were delighted to see two little fluffy red cubs had safely arrived and were snuggled together.

Liwei is being very attentive to the cubs giving them all the care they require to grow and develop into healthy young pandas. Red panda cubs’ development is quite slow as they open their eyes after 18 days and tend not to emerge from their nest until they are about 10-12 weeks old, so it will be some time before they start to explore their home.

Liwei and An An’s last cub, Iniya, left Colchester Zoo in April to live at Thrigby Hall in Yarmouth and one of Liwei’s 2013 cubs went to Wingham Wildlife Park in 2014 where she successfully bred, giving birth to twin males in 2015.

Red pandas are classified as Endangered on the ICUN Red List.