Guys, we feel so lucky.
We are with gorgeous Teddy and Scarlett, the red pandas this morning.
And they are so beautiful and wonderful.
Red pandas are one of the most extraordinary animals on the planet.
They are so unique and interesting.
Now, right now, they are enjoying their delicious breakfast of fruits and veggies.
Extremely healthy, very nutritious,
and they may have a preference for the fruit, though...
Which is a lot like someone else I know.
Oh, yes, if our red pandas and I have something in common,
it’s that we like fruit a whole lot-
Oh sorry, am I taking too long?
We like fruit a whole lot more than vegetables.
So you'll notice the sweet potato has been untouched so far.
They're going for the delicious apple and blueberries.
And that's something really amazing here at Australia Zoo.
All of the food for our gorgeous wildlife family
is human quality, so we can eat it just as much as our animals here.
Now, red pandas are extremely special.
We have a red panda breeding program here at Australia Zoo and Scarlet and Teddy
are actually our very first cubs we've ever had born here at Australia Zoo.
Now we have a breeding program because these guys
are critically endangered in the wild.
They live in the high altitudes of Asia, in the Himalayas,
around China, Myanmar, Nepal, those colder regions,
and they're losing habitat due to habitat destruction, human population expanding.
They're also subject to the pet trade.
Oh, you want this mash, don't you?
Yeah. That's delicious, isn't it?
Yum!
They're also subject to the pet trade, which is very sad as well.
So there are a lot of threats facing them.
They're losing their forests at a rapid rate,
but luckily, there is hope, here at Australia Zoo
we do have a breeding program as well as other facilities around the world,
making sure the red pandas are on the planet for generations to come.
And how could you not love them? Look at them.
They love their mash. They are so cute.
Now, if you notice, their feet actually kind of look like socks.
They're just built- are you checking out that sound?
Yeah, there's a sound, you guys, have to secure the area.
Construction. Are you guys swapping now?
Do you want to swap?
Lets swap back. - You wanna swap back?
I’ll trade you sides.
All right.
Come over here.
There we go! Full swap.
We have swapped.
So we are very, very lucky to have the most incredible team
here at Australia Zoo.
Our keepers are so incredibly dedicated, wonderful and kind,
making sure that all of our animals have the best life possible.
The red pandas are extremely lucky.
They get to laze around all day, enjoy the most gorgeous habitat,
and then get treated with endless amounts of love and care and affection,
and delicious food!
Look at Scarlett, she's just like me!
Look at this.
She’ll take a bite and just go “om nom nom”
You're very polite, Teddy, with the way that you eat.
You do have a little something... There.
Just on your nose. To the right.
Yeah, she's really enjoying this.
It’s not first date food.
Scarlett and I really get into our food.
It's true. We have a lot in common.
Like Chandler was saying,
Red pandas do have the cutest little socks.
They're actually fuzzy on the bottoms of their feet as well.
So because they live in such cold climates,
they have to keep themselves nice and warm.
So it's one of my favorite things about red pandas.
It looks like they're always wearing socks,
but actually, surprisingly, they adjust very well
to our subtropical climate here at Australia Zoo.
They yeah, they very much enjoy- I think they enjoy some
warmer weather and sunshine instead of just snow, snow, and more snow.
Oh, totally, these guys live in one of the coldest parts of the world.
So here at Australia Zoo, we are in the tropics.
So we do have things like an air conditioned log and access
to climate control for our red panda family.
But they actually love the sun and getting up in their tree
and just lazing around, enjoying our tropical weather.
It's like they're always on vacation.
What’s really amazing is these guys
actually spend about 90% of the time up in trees, so they're designed for climbing,
so they actually have a little digit on their hand that almost resembles
a thumb that helps them
cling onto branches because they'll go way up to the tip top of the tree-
definitely don't want to fall from up there.
They can also turn their paws about 100 degrees
at the ankle to make sure that they hang on the tree branches.
It's really cool.
Crazy when you watch them climb though, because it looks
like they have velcro on their feet like they just stick to the tree.
Like look at that.
They just stick to the trees it's amazing.
I've lost my red panda.
I'm sorry. It's okay, she got full.
You’ll just have to enjoy the rest of her breakfast.
Do you want to try? Here.
It does look delicious- This is Scarlett's, this isn't yours.
Here you go. Do you want that?
Yum, yum. Teddy, you are gorgeous.
Teddy’s like: ‘it’s very messy you guys. It’s very messy.’
I apologize. There you go, well done.
It's a good day when you can just get your breakfast everywhere.
So we feel incredibly lucky to have these guys at Australia Zoo.
As ambassadors for red pandas in the wild as well,
because they are having such a hard time.
So the next time you visit us, be sure to keep an eye out for the red pandas
because they are so cute to watch!
Good job!
And Teddy is often laying on his back just playing with sticks, having fun.
It's so cute.
So we love our red pandas dearly.
And I know you guys will, too.
So thank you for joining us for this-
wonderful breakfast with the red pandas.
And I'm sending red panda cuddles your way.
Its a pretty good day!