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The Edmonton Valley Zoo Welcomes a Miracle

September 19, 2011

A leader in breeding and raising red pandas, the Edmonton Valley Zoo adds another dimension to its success with a hand-raised mother successfully raising a new female red panda cub.

Born August 1, 2011, the cub is named Qiji (CHEE-gee), which means “miracle” in Mandarin. Qiji is the first of her generation, the granddaughter of Lala and Koko, who came to the zoo from Tokuyama Zoo in Japan. Koko and Lala’s offspring are now in accredited zoos across North America, bringing valuable genetic strength to a number of breeding programs.

Qiji’s mother, Pip, was born at the Edmonton Valley Zoo in May 2008 and was hand-raised by Sandy Helliker, Animal Care Team Lead after Lala started over-grooming her.  Despite not being raised by her red panda mother, Pip is taking excellent care of Qiji.

“The fact that Pip, who was hand-raised, has naturally taken to mothering is a huge success for our red panda breeding program,” said Helliker, an international expert on red pandas who has hand-raised seven red pandas. Hand-raising a red panda involves around-the-clock care for several months. During that time, Helliker is responsible for feeding, cleaning and supervising the young red pandas.

Zoo staff continues to monitor the cub while giving Pip the time and space she needs to gain confidence as a new mother.

A public observation book is beside the viewing window in Pip and Qiji’s enclosure for zoo visitors to record any activity they see and help zoo staff gather information on the pandas’ behaviour.

“Every red panda birth is a living, breathing example of the important work happening at the Edmonton Valley Zoo,” said Denise Prefontaine, Director of the Edmonton Valley Zoo.” Helping to ensure the red panda population through the Species Survival Plan is a noteworthy part of our conservation efforts.”

The Edmonton Valley Zoo strives to provide opportunities for visitors to engage with animals and create connections that inspire support of conservation efforts at home and around the world.

“With Pip and Qiji, not only can zoo visitors get closer to these rare pandas, but they can also contribute by recording their observations of mom and cub to ensure their continued success,” added Prefontaine.

Qiji was 135 g at birth and is currently a healthy 710 g. The father is Ralphie who came to the Edmonton Valley Zoo in 2009 from Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg. Qiji is the eighth red panda born at the Edmonton Valley Zoo since 2004.

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is a leader in breeding and raising endangered red pandas and is an integral part of the North American Species Survival Plan. With fewer than 70 of the styani subspecies of red pandas in captivity in North America, the Species Survival Plan ensures the genetic health of the population. Qiji is one of only six successful births of this subspecies in the North American Species Survival Plan this year.

Red Pandas are native to the temperate boreal forests of the Himalayas, the high mountains of northern Burma and the western provinces of China. Their reddish-brown markings and white faces allow for a great deal of camouflage in the boreal forests, allowing them to blend in with clumps of dirt and moss and stumps covered with lichen.

Deforestation is the greatest threat to the red panda population, as the vast majority of their diet is bamboo.  As the bamboo forests are destroyed by human encroachment, the red pandas are left without food and habitat. In order to prevent their extinction, it is critical that the red pandas are bred in captivity, through programs like the Species Survival Plan at the Edmonton Valley Zoo.

To learn more about red pandas at the Edmonton Valley Zoo and to follow Qiji’s growth, visit http://www.transformingedmonton.ca Zoo staff will be updating the blog over the next few months with photos, videos and stories about Qiji, Pip and the other red pandas at the zoo.

To find out how to further support the conservation efforts happening at the zoo, visit Edmonton Valley Zoo - Make a Difference.

In order to maintain a calm environment for Pip and Qiji, access to the red panda pen is limited to a handful of zoo staff. The zoo is unable to accommodate media requests for non-public access at this time.

High resolution photos of both Qiji and Pip are available for downloading in our on-line photo gallery: Red Panda Photo Gallery.