Moshu is a cute red panda who has been living at the Oregon zoo for over six months. Zookeeper Nicole is feeding him as she teaches people all about red pandas.
At nearly nine years old, Moshu is happy and healthy. He came from the Nashville Zoo with Mei Mei, the female red panda that lives with him. They both have a beautiful coat that is red at the top and black at the bottom.
Their coat is this color to give them camouflage. In the Himalayan forests where they are from, the environment they roam in has a reddish hue.
Mei Mei’s favorite food is grapes, while Moshu’s is apple pieces. Once he is done eating, Moshu climbs to the top of a branch and cleans himself.
Red pandas clean themselves just like house cats do. Since they are pretty flexible, they can brush and lick themselves easily. They have thick fur around their feet because they walk across ice and snow.
The main predator of the red pandas is the leopard. A mother will move her babies several times a day and keep the nest clean to keep anything from tracking them.
Nicole is happy and thankful to be able to teach people about red pandas. There are a lot of things people can do to help their endangered species. The first step is to simply know more about them.
