‘Boyfriend’ Arrives in Moscow Zoo to Put a Smile on Zena the Red Panda’s Face

By Afanasiy Pervomaisky

Since her arrival to the Moscow Zoo, Zena the red panda has been a sad little thing, sitting alone in the top corner of her cage. But now it’s hopefully going to change with a new red panda arriving in Zena’s house.

While every news agency is talking about ISIS and terrorism in the aftermath of the last week Paris attacks, it was easy to miss out on other, more positive [albeit less important] news.

It seems folks didn’t notice the arrival of a new red panda in the Moscow Zoo. The cuddly bundle of cuteness is already the second red panda in Russia – last year Moscow received Zena, a two-year old female red panda from Europe. And now she’s got… a male company. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, there is a red panda-dude in the same cage with Zena.

I went to the zoo three times over the past year to see Zena, but every time I was near her cage she solemnly sat in the farthest top corner, away from the public eye. All I could see was her tail. That was a real bummer, because I thought red pandas were playful little things!

The new guy, a one-and-a-half-year-old male who still doesn’t have a name, was brought from Poland. He’s got a more dark-reddish face and seems a bit more bouncy than Zena, especially considering he’s a new kid on the block.

It would certainly be interesting to see how the two will interact. We might even see a bundle from heaven sometime next spring, as red pandas start their mating season in January.

Oh, just so you know, red panda pups aren’t red. But that’s a different story…

#Moscow Zoo#red panda#Russia#Zena