Red panda comes to Santa Barbara Zoo

Claire Boeck, Ventura County Star
Updated ·1 min read
A red panda at Delaware's Brandywine Zoo in March. The Santa Barbara Zoo recently received a male red panda from New York that will go on public display later this year.
A red panda at Delaware's Brandywine Zoo in March. The Santa Barbara Zoo recently received a male red panda from New York that will go on public display later this year.

A new red panda has arrived at the Santa Barbara Zoo, officials said Wednesday, although the critter won't be on display until later this year.

The red panda is considered endangered, zoo officials said, with about 10,000 left in the wild due to habitat loss. The small mammals are more closely related to raccoons than to the more familiar giant panda.

The male red panda traveled from New York, where he'd been at the Trevor Zoo at Millbrook School. He's currently in a temporary habitat — a spacious one, zoo officials said — that's not visible to the public while his permanent enclosure is being renovated.

The Santa Barbara Zoo recently joined with CSU Channel Islands to launch a conservation center at the campus south of Camarillo. More information on the zoo's exhibits and activities is available at sbzoo.org.

Claire Boeck is an intern for the Ventura County Star and can be reached at claire.boeck@vcstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Red panda comes to Santa Barbara Zoo