Visitors to West Midlands Safari Park are being invited to help choose names for two rare red panda cubs born this summer.
The twin sisters, born on 16 June to mum Mei Lin and dad Sanka, are now just over three months old. After spending their early weeks tucked away in nest boxes with Mei Lin, the pair recently had their first health checks and are beginning to explore their surroundings.
To celebrate their arrival, the park has launched a public vote on Facebook. Following this year’s theme of names beginning with the letter “N,” keepers have shortlisted four options: Nadiya (meaning hope), Navina (new), Nehal (beautiful), and Nikisha (beautiful).
Head keeper Amy Sewell praised Mei Lin for her attentive parenting: “She’s done a brilliant job raising the twins. Now she’s even started showing them around, and it’s been wonderful to see the three of them exploring together, while dad Sanka proudly watches from a distance.”
With fewer than 10,000 red pandas remaining in the wild, every cub born is a valuable boost for the endangered species. Both Mei Lin, who arrived at the safari park in 2021, and Sanka, who joined a year later, are part of a European breeding program aimed at conserving vulnerable wildlife.
In a sweet twist of timing, the cubs were born exactly two years after Mei Lin’s first cub in 2023.