Panda Time!

Chang-Tan (notice his prominent, dark facial marks?)

Sha-Lei (her face is rounder and fluffy with prominent white markings)

I'm going to go see these cuties this weekend (weather permitting of course).  Sha-Lei and Chang-Tan are the Red Pandas at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, WI.  They are a mating pair and will hopefully make some baby pandas soon ^__^.  Unfortunately the 8 year old Cheng-Tan has cancer and may only be able to be in the exhibit for a few more years until his health prevents him from being able to.  His female partner Sha-Lei is young, only a couple years old, and seems to be healthy and very happy to greet human visitors.

You should visit the zoo in your area and support your zoo's conservation efforts.  There are less than 2,500 red pandas in the wild and without captive breeding, this species might not be around in the future. Could you manage living in a world without THIS CUTENESS?! I think not.  Support your zoo and all the work they do to keep our world's incredible creatures here for us to enjoy!

For more pictures visit this website.  For more information about the Henry Vilas Zoo, go here.  For info on red panda conservation, visit this site.

PHOTOS BY: theredpanda on flickr