Five-year-old red panda Esha has officially joined Jersey Zoo after moving from Peak Wildlife Park. The endangered female is settling into her new woodland enclosure, where visitors can already spot her climbing among the trees.
Jersey Zoo has welcomed a new ambassador for one of Asia’s most threatened mammals. Esha, a five-year-old red panda (Ailurus fulgens), has arrived from Peak Wildlife Park and is already exploring her new home in the zoo’s woodland habitat.
The arrival is part of Jersey Zoo’s ongoing commitment to the conservation of endangered species through the work of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
A species adapted to life in the trees
Native to the bamboo forests of the eastern Himalayas, red pandas spend much of their lives in the canopy. Despite sharing a name with the giant panda, the two species are only distantly related.
The name “panda” is believed to derive from the Nepali word “ponya,” meaning “bamboo eater.” Bamboo makes up a large part of the species’ diet, and red pandas are specially adapted for feeding thanks to a modified wrist bone often referred to as a “false thumb,” which helps them grasp bamboo stems.
Their long, bushy tails provide balance as they move effortlessly through the trees, where they spend most of their time resting, feeding and avoiding predators.
An Endangered species
The red panda is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and is legally protected across its native range, including Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal.
Wild populations continue to decline due to habitat loss, forest fragmentation, human disturbance and poaching, making conservation efforts both in situ and in accredited zoological institutions increasingly important.
Esha settles into her new home
Speaking about Esha’s arrival, Mary-Anne Jones, Team Leader, Mammals at Jersey Zoo, said:
«We are over the moon to welcome Esha, the red panda into the Jersey Zoo family. So far, Esha has settled in well, growing in confidence both with her new keepers and in her amazing new enclosure.
Our new red panda represents one of the incredible species found in the forests of the Himalayas. Hundreds of miles away, in the grasslands of Assam, Durrell has spent decades helping save one of the world’s rarest mammals, the pygmy hog. Together, these species remind us that protecting India’s wildlife means protecting many different habitats, from mountain forests to tropical grasslands.
We are so excited for our guests to see Esha scaling the dazzling heights of her exciting new enclosure.»
Where visitors can find Esha
Visitors hoping to spot Esha can find her enclosure next to the zoo’s silvery marmosets, although they may need to look up to see her climbing among the branches.
Esha’s arrival offers visitors the chance to observe one of the world’s most charismatic small carnivores while highlighting the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust’s broader mission to protect endangered species and restore ecosystems across the globe.
