Worth the wait: Wellington Zoo's newest red panda cub finally has a name, Ngima, meaning sun in Nepalese.

After three months of waiting, Wellington Zoo's new red panda cub has been revealed to be a boy, meaning he can finally be named.

The colourful cub is now known as Ngima (pronounced Neema), which means sun in Nepalese. The name was chosen by the zoo's conservation partner Red Panda Network, a non-profit organisation dedicated to saving the pandas' Himalayan habitat.

It's a fitting name for the bundle of red fluff, who was born on Sunday, December 17, to first-time mother and father Khusi and Sundar.

WELLINGTON ZOO Wellington Zoo's adorable Red Panda cub is just over 8 weeks old and had its first health check yesterday by the zoo team.

Red pandas, which were upgraded from vulnerable to endangered in 2015 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, are solitary animals who come together only for breeding.

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Wellington Zoo has also announced the birth this month of a critically endangered cotton-top tamarin.

SUPPLIED Sunda, the proud father of a new cub at Wellington Zoo.

It's the second time in less than a year that the zoo's resident cotton-top tamarin couple, Celeste and Esteban, have welcomed new arrivals, with the birth of twins in May last year.

The baby's sex will not be known for some time, with zookeepers keen to remain hands-off for as long as possible. That means, for now, the tiny, furry tamarin will remain nameless.

Tamarin monkeys are critically endangered in the wild, and the Wellington Zoo birth gives a much-needed boost to the captive population and international conservation breeding programme.

WELLINGTON ZOO Wellington Zoo's newest arrival is a two-week-old baby cotton-top tamarin monkey.

Before arriving at the zoo more than a year ago, the two parents had never met, with Esteban having come from Blackpool Zoo in Britain, and Celeste from Bratislava Zoo in Slovakia.