pemba is a four-month-old red panda cub from sydney’s taronga zoo in australia.  red pandas are endangered species – taronga zoo has put up years ago a breeding program for them and pemba is the 44th cub that they have successfully bred. 

the red panda, also called the firefox or lesser panda is a mostly herbivorous mammal, specialized as a bamboo feeder.  it is slightly larger than a domestic cat.  the red panda is endemic to the himalayas in bhutan, southern china, pakistan, india, laos, nepal, and burma.  there is an estimated population of fewer than 2,500 mature individuals.  their population continues to decline due to habitat fragmentation.