Liu makes two! 2nd red panda joins Oregon Zoo family

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Oregon Zoo has welcomed a second red panda to their ranks this month, as 6-year-old Liu gets settled in to the habitat.

Liu comes to Portland from the Toledo Zoo as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for red pandas.

He arrived just weeks after Enoki, a female red panda, and caregivers will soon introduce the duo in the hopes that they may eventually help add to the population of the endangered species.

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For those coming to see the pandas, they should be easy to tell apart. Liu has a blonde tail, and Enoki is much smaller with a darker coat.

“He’s very handsome,” said Dr. Carlos Sanchez, the zoo’s director of animal health, who stopped by Liu’s habitat to observe, a red panda plushy tucked under one arm. “His tail is so blond — surfer blond.”

Liu was born on June 28, 2019 at Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn. His name means “willow” in Mandarin Chinese, a nod to his mother, whose name is also Willow.

Enoki is nearly three years old, and is of the refulgens subspecies of red panda, known for having darker faces and more prominent tail rings.

“These two represent a species in trouble,” said Kelly Gomez, who oversees the zoo’s red panda area. “In the past 25 years, habitat loss, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade have wiped out nearly half the world’s red panda population. Hopefully, we can help inspire a new chapter in the conservation of this incredible species.”

The duo joins the Oregon Zoo family more than a year after the death of Moshu, the zoo’s previous resident red panda who was dubbed “Sir Snacks-a-Lot.” Moshu was 14 years old.

More info from the Oregon Zoo.