Special to WNC Parent

As you may have heard, red pandas have recently arrived at the WNC Nature Center!

Our newest residents, Leafa and Phoenix, give the Prehistoric Appalachia exhibit an exciting start! The female, Leafa, is 10 years old and the male, Phoenix, is 7. They have lived together and have had offspring. They are busy settling into their new home with us at the Center, purposefully away from the public, as they acclimate to their new surroundings.

Related: Bamboo-eating red pandas are coming

The introduction of red pandas to the Nature Center may come as a surprise, but a direct relative of the red panda, Bristol’s Panda, was found to live in the Appalachian mountains nearly 5 million years ago. The Prehistoric Appalachia exhibit is a step into the past brought to life by the Miocene epoch uncovered at the Gray Fossil Site in Tennessee. This dig site is filled with the remains of species that we can no longer find around us such as tapirs, rhinoceros and alligators.

This project is important because while it is preserving our past and providing education for the present, it is also affording a future for many species that are endangered, including the red panda. Red panda numbers are dwindling in the wild, with less than 10,000 individuals left.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan may be the key to bringing this species back from the brink of extinction, much like the red wolves of our home state. Red pandas are from an area that has a very similar climate to our own, which will ensure their happiness and success at the Nature Center. In fact, the Knoxville Zoo of Tennessee has fostered more red panda births than any other zoo in the program,

The Friends of the WNC Nature Center has recently announced new giving opportunities that support the red panda habitat and give donors a chance to see them up close. For details, see the Nature Center's website at https://wildwnc.org/. Guests can also support the red pandas through the purchase of red panda merchandise at the Nature Center gift shop.