Dating agency matches up red pandas

Newquay Zoo’s male red panda Germaine has finally found love - thanks to an international zoological dating agency.

After months of searching, keepers at the charity zoo found 8-year-old female Zou through the international studbook. Studbooks are detailed records used by zoos to pair up animals, making sure they are genetically suitable and that there’s no danger of inbreeding.

Zou has come to Cornwall from Touroparc, just north of Lyon, in France.

Keepers hope that they will get on well. Senior Carnivore Keeper Mike Downman said: “Zou has spent the past few days exploring her new home and introducing herself to Germaine. We are very excited for the pairing and hope that they will go on to have fluffy little cubs in the future!”

Red pandas are native to India, China, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar. They are classified as Endangered according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, with fewer than 10,000 individuals left in the wild.