DULUTH — The first of two red pandas expected to arrive at the Lake Superior Zoo this year is now on-site and adjusting to her new home.
Zoozee, an 11-month-old member of the critically endangered species, arrived April 8 and is currently out of public view during a "quarantine and adjustment period." She was born at the Kansas City Zoo. The Lake Superior Zoo expects a second red panda, a male, to arrive later this year.
The red pandas are highly anticipated additions, to be housed in the first new structure built on zoo grounds in decades. Zoozee's keepers expect the red panda will be ready to meet the public after the new habitat is complete in early May.
"We will be able to have a male and female pair in there, along with their cubs," explained Lizzy Larson, the zoo's director of animal management, speaking to media Wednesday afternoon while standing next to the private enclosure where Zoozee is waiting for her new habitat to be completed.
Larson said at about 3 feet in length and 10 pounds in weight, Zoozee is almost fully grown. As Larson spoke, the inquisitive animal readily came to the bars of her enclosure to snack on grapes the keeper fed to her on the end of a stick. Primarily but not exclusively a vegetarian, the red panda is going through about 3 pounds of bamboo a week in addition to nutritional biscuits.
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Zoozee is presently the only member of her species living at a Minnesota zoo that is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
A red panda living at the Minnesota Zoo, in Apple Valley, died in 2021. In St. Paul, Como Zoo has explored the idea of a red panda exhibit, but no definite plans are in place. The Hemker Park and Zoo in Freeport, Minnesota, has two red pandas in residence.
According to a news release, Lake Superior Zoo staff decided last year to move forward with a red panda exhibit given that the animals are well-adapted to the Northland climate. The small mammals are indigenous to mountainous areas of Asia, and the Lake Superior Zoo animals will be able to remain in their outdoor habitat year-round.
"We are one of the northernmost (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited zoos," said Larson, "which is really phenomenal because we have this amazing climate that really (is) a great environment for cold weather animals."
Even Duluth might get a little toasty for the red pandas during hot summer days. "Her inside area will be air conditioned, if she wants to go into the air conditioning," explained Larson about the enclosure under construction.
This year marks the centennial of the Lake Superior Zoo, which will celebrate the occasion with programming including an anniversary exhibit expected to debut this summer.
"We are not just providing an experience," zoo CEO Haley Hedstrom told the News Tribune last year. "We are making sure that species, like the red panda, whose wildlife habitats are critically endangered, are able to continue to live successfully for generations to come."
This story was updated at 9:06 a.m. April 27 to correct an erroneous statement that the Lake Superior Zoo's new red panda is the only red panda living in Minnesota. It was originally posted at 4:34 p.m. April 26. The News Tribune regrets the error.
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