Endangered red panda twins born at Chester Zoo
Thanks to human actions, the number of red pandas in the wild has dropped 40% in 50 years.
Two red pandas have been born at Chester Zoo, as part of an endangered species breeding programme.
The twins, who are a boy and a girl, have been filmed getting their first ever health check-up.
They're just nine weeks old - and were born in June to mum Nima and dad Koda who, until now, have kept them tucked up in their nest boxes.
Specialist vets and keepers have now had their very first look at the duo, examining the pair during the health check, where they were weighed, sexed and vaccinated.
They were both given a clean bill of health.
James Andrewes, Assistant Team Manager at the zoo, said:
“These red panda twins are wonderful, important new additions to the carefully managed breeding programme for the species, which is working to increase the safety-net population in Europe as numbers in the wild continue to decline.
“Happily, both cubs are developing very well indeed and the health MOTs we’ve been able to perform confirmed that mum Nima is clearly doing a great job of caring for them.
“It’ll be a few weeks now until the cubs start to develop the confidence to come out and explore by themselves.
"Before they’re able to stand on their own feet, it is though possible that some lucky people will have the occasional glimpse of Nima carrying them from nest to nest by the scruffs of their necks.”
Red pandas are found in the mountainous regions of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and southern China where their wild number is estimated at fewer than 10,000 - a 40% decline over the past 50 years.
This decrease is a direct result of human actions, such as widespread deforestation, trapping for the illegal pet trade and poaching for their iconic red fur - which in some countries is used to make hats for newly-weds as a symbol of happy marriage