14 DAY TRIAL // Towards the end of last week, a red panda cub born in captivity made its public debut at Fort Wayne Children's Zoo in Indiana, US, and staff at the wildlife park were besides themselves with joy to see it exploring its enclosure.
The red panda cub, pictured next to this article, arrived into this world about 3 months ago. However, it spent its first weeks of life away from the public eye, hidden inside its nest box.
Zoo Borns tells us that, when finally building up the courage to step into the spotlight, the cub, named Maliha, emerged from its nest together with Xiao, its mom.
Keepers say that, now that it is brave enough to venture outside its next, the cub spends most of its time climbing and exploring the enclosure it shares with its mother.
The latter is always by its side, looking to make sure that Maliha does not get into any serious trouble. Whenever the cub starts acting out or shows signs of wanting to throw a fit, Xiao urges it back into the nest box.
Vets who have had the chance to examine this red panda cub born at Fort Wayne Children's Zoo on June 9 say that it is a young lady. The cub appears to be in good health, and is growing stronger and feistier every day.