Manitoba

Eat your heart out, Picasso: Red pandas get artsy at Assiniboine Park Zoo

It's International Red Panda Day this Saturday, and Assiniboine Park Zoo is hoping to sell off colourful artwork made by the cute little creatures.

Winnipeg zoo to auction off colourful paw-print creations as part of International Red Panda Day

Red pandas munch on some treats at Assiniboine Park Zoo. (Assiniboine Park Zoo)

If you've never owned an artwork created by an animal, you can change that this weekend in Winnipeg.

Assiniboine Park Zoo will auction off paw-print artwork Saturday for International Red Panda Day. The colourful creations were made by the zoo's own resident cuddly-wuddly red pandas.

"These art pieces are truly unique and we hope that they will inspire the community to care about red pandas," Janice Martin, Assiniboine Park Zoo curator, said in a statement Thursday. 

Several other activities are going on at the zoo over the weekend to mark the occasion, including readings of stories about red pandas, panda-themed activities for kids and more.

People can bid on the artwork in the gift shop or bid on a special piece featured online through the zoo's Facebook page. The online auction runs from Friday at 9 a.m. CT and closes Sunday at 10 p.m. CT.

Proceeds from the artwork auction will go to the Red Panda Network, a conservation organization committed to protecting red pandas in their natural habitat.