A PAIR of red panda kits emerhed from their den for the first time on Wednesday.
The male kits, named N'mai and Nam Pang, were born to mother Kitty and father Kevin at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park on June 14.
And at five months old they have begun emerging from their den and have started to venture out into their enclosure to explore and play.
Photo credit: RZSS Highland Wildlife Park
Douglas Richardson, Head of Living Collections at the park, said: "This is our third litter of red pandas since the arrival of our adult pair in 2012, with a male born in 2013 and a male and female in 2014.
"Although born in June, most other carnivore babies would be routinely bumbling out of the nest-box by the time that they were four to six weeks old, but red panda babies are very slow to reach that exploratory stage.
"These are our first kits in two years due to strictly controlled breeding as a result of the limited availability of space in zoos for enclosures which are able to fulfil the needs and requirements of this unique species."
The red pandas are part of the European Breeding Programme and the birth is a direct result of a specific breeding recommendation.
The kits have been named N'mai and Nam Pang after rivers in northern and eastern Myanmar.
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