West Midlands Safari Park announce departure of adorable twin Red Panda babies

West Midlands Safari Park are saying their ‘goodbyes’ to a set of adorable Red Panda twins as the time has come for them to live in new habitats.

Nadiya and Nikisha were born in June last year to five-year-old mother red panda Mei Lin and father Sanka.

Keepers thought five-year-old red panda Mei Lin may be having twins after noticing how ‘round’ she was during her pregnancy.

On that morning, keepers started to hear some squeaks coming from one of the nest boxes. A few days later, Mei Lin was seen moving a cub to a different nest box and keepers were overjoyed when she then went back and collected a second cub.

But now after almost a year, which has involved some snoozing and adventures around the park, it is time for the pair to move to newer pastures and possibly have a family of their own in a new zoo.

A spokesperson for a West Midlands Safari Park said: “Goodbye Nadiya & Nikisha! The adorable red panda twins are off on new adventures this week.

“Born on 16th June last year to Mei Lin and Sanka, the twins have spent the past few months climbing, exploring, snoozing in the tree tops and completely stealing hearts along the way.

“Now at the age where they would naturally leave mum in the wild, the cubs are moving on to begin exciting new chapters and hopefully one day start families of their own.

“This is part of the conservation breeding programme for this endangered species. Nikisha will be travelling to Lincoln Zoo. Nadiya will be travelling to Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve.

“While we’ll miss seeing their playful personalities around the park, we’re so excited to watch them continue to grow and flourish in their new homes Red pandas are classed as ‘Endangered’ due to habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade.

“We are proud to support the Red Panda Network by sponsoring a Forest Guardian who helps protect wild red pandas and their forest habitats.”

For more information about Red Pandas, visit the Red Panda Network website.