IMAGES | Louisville Zoo reveals return of endangered animal resident for 1st time since 1970s | Local News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Zoo now has a red panda living in its Glacier Run zone, the first time it's housed the endangered species since the 1970s.

The zoo unveiled the nearly 1-year-old male panda during a ceremony Tuesday morning. His name is Sundara, but the zoo is calling him "Sunny D" for short.

Red pandas weight between 8 and 17 pounds and can be up to 40 inches in length. Sunny D is around 9 pounds right now.

The zoo said red pandas are considered adults at around 2-years-old and have a lifespan into the teens or early 20s.

"There are so many fun things to learn about this unique species that we haven’t seen at the Zoo since the early days," Louisville Zoo Director Dan Maloney said in a news release Tuesday. "While one might think they are in the bear family, they are actually in a taxonomic group that shares common traits with mustelids like raccoons, weasels and skunks. We are very excited to have red pandas back at the Zoo and to be sharing this species with Kentuckiana."

A red panda was unveiled as the Louisville Zoo's newest animal on May 16, 2023.

Sunny D comes to Louisville from the Kansas City Zoo. He's been in Louisville for a few weeks now, but Tuesday morning was the first time his exhibit was officially opened to the public.

"Adorable," said Danielle Wilkins, who was visiting the zoo with her daughters and sister. "Gonna be one of the favorites here for sure."

Many braved the rain to take the day to visit the new exhibit.

According to the Louisville Zoo, red pandas are listed as endangered and decreasing on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Red pandas are found in the Himalayan forests in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma) and southern China.

"We are very excited to unveil an animal that has not been represented at the (Louisville Zoo) for almost four decades," Maloney said.

Sunny D jumped and climbed around his enclosure Tuesday morning, eating grapes for treats as community members and zoo staff came to see the new red panda.

"He's seen people since he's been very young so he's very used to us," said Jessica Cunningham, one of the Louisville Zoo's assistant mammal curators. "We mean good things. So we bring lots of treats, all of his food, and he gets comfortable with us. New people — it kind of takes him a second to get used to them. But he'll be a little more stand-off-ish than necessarily territorial of the space. But if he knows you he'll come right over, check you out and he's usually ready to train right away."

Cunningham recently joined the staff at the Louisville Zoo. She was previously working at the Kansas City Zoo while Sunny D was there and got to know him some before he moved here.

"I already knew we had a pretty decent connection and that hopefully he would remember me when I came here," she said. "And it seemed like he did when I started training him when he got here."

The zoo said it's possible it will get another red panda, but, overall, the species enjoys living alone.

"They're typically very solitary animals except during breeding season or when they're young,' Cunningham said. "Mothers usually give birth to one to four pups at a time."

Sunny D's first birthday will be at the end of May. The zoo said it's planning to give him some special treats to celebrate.

"Of course, it'll be his first birthday, so we have to do something special," Cunningham said.

Red pandas are most active during dawn and dusk, so the best times to visit Sunny D are in the morning or late afternoon. Zoo guests arriving in the middle of the day are likely to find him napping.

The Louisville Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. To learn more about the Louisville Zoo, click here.