North Dakota zoo has new panda

The Red River Zoo has a 3-year-old male red panda on loan from the Cincinnati Zoo for breeding purposes.

Chang Tan will be paired with Jiao Mei, a 5-year-old female red panda who has given birth to four cubs.

Chinese red pandas are small catlike animals that primarily eat bamboo shoots and leaves. They typically live about eight years in the wild and 15 years in zoos.

The Red River Zoo had a male red panda, but it died of heart failure last year.

Animal collection manager Mike Schmidt said Chang Tan will be quarantined for 30 days before meeting Jiao Mei, to combat any illness or disease triggered by stress from traveling.

Red pandas typically breed in mid-February, the zoo said, AP reports.

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