Red Panda Weekend at Assiniboine Park Zoo is Saturday, September 17 and Sunday, September 18. (ASSINIBOINE PARK CONSERVANCY / HANDOUT)
WINNIPEG — Assiniboine Park Zoo is celebrating International Red Panda Day this weekend.
The zoo will host Red Panda Weekend this Saturday and Sunday, with activities planned to highlight the species.
“Red pandas are an indicator of ecological health of the Eastern Himalayan Broadleaf Forest Ecoregion: one of our planet’s biodiversity hotspots,” said Grant Furniss, senior director, zoological operations, Assiniboine Park Zoo.
“Their conservation has huge impacts, when red pandas are protected, the entire area of forests and wildlife are preserved as well. We hope our zoo visitors will learn about this amazing species and take action to support conservation efforts to protect red pandas from extinction.”
Red panda zoo chats with an animal care professional start at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at Toucan Ridge.
According to the Red Panda Network, there may be as few as 2,500 red pandas remaining in the wild as their population has declined by over 50 percent in the past 20 years.
Red panda activities are included with regular zoo admission. The zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
