Baby of the family

Let me introduce you to Keti, the newest addition to the Red Panda family at the Calgary Zoo. Isn't she absolutely adorable? She was born on 4th June 2009 to five-year-old mother Malikha. On 25th September, she was seen by the public for the first time, so when I saw her on 6th October, she was still getting used to her outdoor surroundings and trying to keep her balance when climbing up to the playhouse and down again: ) She has such a long, bushy tail, a tiny bit of which you can see here : )

"Every time a red panda is born, and particularly every time the cub is raised by its mother, it's an important achievement, because the mortality rate for red panda cubs is as high as 74 per cent.

Since 1994, nine red cub pandas have been born at the Calgary Zoo.

"It is important to continue to support conservation and protection of red pandas so that some day we see a natural increase in their populations," said Tim Sinclair-Smith, curator of the zoo's Eurasia section.

"There is still a long way to go to this end, but this new birth will have a positive impact on captive population growth and genetic diversity of the species."

It's estimated there are fewer than 10,000 mature red pandas in the world. They're classified as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List." From CBC News, Calgary.