A new boy has come to town and, like Santa, he wears a fiery red coat: a male red panda named Yukiko (yu-key-ko), Woodland Park Zoo’s newest arrival.

The 9-year-old panda arrived under the Red Panda Species Survival Plan conservation breeding program from Red River Zoo in Fargo, N.D. As part of Woodland Park Zoo’s preventive care program, the zoo’s veterinary team performed a full physical examination including weight, blood work and radiographs.

“We are pleased overall with his weight and blood work and he appears to be in good shape,” said Dr. Darin Collins, director of Woodland Park Zoo’s Animal Health Programs. “We found some moderate dental disease that required us to extract one tooth. He will need to spend some time on antibiotics and other medications before completing his quarantine period, which is standard procedure for all new animals.”

The breeding season for red pandas occurs from early January through the end of April so Yukiko will remain off exhibit as he goes through a series of introductions to Stellar, a 7-year-old female red panda who has lived at the zoo since 2010. The introductions will take place in off-view dens and both animals will remain off view until approximately May.

“Yukiko has successfully sired seven offspring so we have high hopes that the pair will produce offspring,” said Mark Myers, a curator at Woodland Park Zoo. “Stellar has not had any viable offspring. If she becomes pregnant, we anticipate a birth in July or August.” The last viable birth of red pandas at the zoo was in 1989.

According to Myers, there is currently no test available to determine pregnancy in a red panda. Only ultrasound and behavioral changes will help indicate a pregnancy. “Thanks to the dedication and innovation of our red panda keepers, Stellar has been successfully trained for ultrasound procedures. “During ultrasounds, Stellar perches on a T-stand, made by our lead panda keeper, and is treated to a bowl of blueberries and leaf-eater biscuits soaked in apple juice. Her desensitization to the procedure and willingness to cooperate will help us monitor her pregnancy,” explained Myers.

Red pandas share the name of giant pandas, but more closely resemble raccoons. While scientists still debate which family red pandas belong to--raccoons or giant pandas--recent studies suggest that they are equally related to three different groups of animals that include skunks, weasels and raccoons.

In the wild, fewer than 10,000 red pandas remain in their native habitat of bamboo forests in China, the Himalayas and Myanmar, and share part of their range with giant pandas. Their numbers are declining due to deforestation, increased agriculture and cattle grazing, and continuing pressure from growing local populations.

In the wild, red pandas primarily eat bamboo shoots and leaves, grasses, roots, fruits, lichens and acorns. They occasionally eat insects, eggs, young birds and small rodents. At the zoo, red pandas are fed apple-fiber biscuit, bamboo and various fruit, grubs and berries.

Woodland Park Zoo supports the Red Panda Network, whose multi-prong approach aims to conserve this flagship species in Nepal. To help support the project, adopt a red panda through the zoo’s ZooParent Adoption Program: www.zoo.org/support/zooparent/redpanda.