Meet Tanvi and Suva, Winnipeg zoo's 3-month-old red panda cubs
Red pandas are endangered and the cubs will help ensure the survival of the species, Assiniboine Park Zoo says
They are only three months old but the little red panda cubs at Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg are essential to the future of their species.
Tanvi, which means "delicate girl" in Nepali, and Suva, which means "good luck," were born on June 13.
"Red pandas are endangered so there are very few left of them in the wild," said Jessica Sjonnesen, a zookeeper at Assiniboine Park.
"Red pandas are a very important species. Helping save the red pandas helps to save other species that live in the same habitat as them."
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The population in the red panda's eastern Himalayan natural habitat has declined more than 50 per cent over the last three generations. Deforestation and illegal hunting are expected to make the situation much worse, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says.
The animals are bred in captivity worldwide as part of the Species Survival Program, which works with zoos to help maintain the populations and genetic diversity of at-risk animals.
Tango, the pandas' father, was brought from Edmonton Valley Zoo just for their mother, Sachi, through the program.
Sachi is only in heat for three days a year, so Tango had a very small window of opportunity to help repopulate the endangered species.
Luckily for their love life and the species, Sachi got pregnant.
That continues a strong track record for setting a romantic mood at Assiniboine Park, which is among the most successful zoos in the world when it comes to breeding red pandas
"A lot of facilities don't have good luck," Sjonnesen said.
"We don't really know why. We don't do anything special. Our best guess is that we are kind of the closest to their native climate."
The cubs will stay with their parents for a year-and-a-half before they head off to other zoos around the world to find mates of their own, helping to keep the species alive and diversify the red panda population's genetics.
To celebrate the cubs' birth, the zoo held a public naming competition. The names were announced on Friday to kick off the zoo's Red Panda Weekend.
With events and the sale of paintings, including one by Sachi the red panda, the zoo will raise money for the Red Panda Network, which helps to save the animals in the wild.
"It's an awesome cause. They are very cute animals," Sjonnesen said.
"Saving them helps to save other species."
