Visitors to Franklin Park Zoo are invited to celebrate International Red Panda Day on September 17! This small mammal is known for its soft, dense red fur that covers even the soles of its feet and keeps it warm in the forests of its Himalayan habitat, as well as its ring-tail and mask-like face.

Guests to the Zoo can learn more about red pandas when they stop by an education station or partake in zookeeper encounters at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at the new red panda exhibit within Nature’s Neighborhoods – the George Robert White Fund Children’s Zoo, which opened on September 1. 

Zoo New England is committed to the conservation of these animals and is an active participant in the Red Panda Species Survival Plan (SSP) – a cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. SSPs are designed to maintain genetically diverse and demographically stable captive populations of species. Zoo New England is also currently supporting the Red Panda Network through the Quarters for Conservation program.