A rare red panda has been born at the Beekse Bergen safari park in Hilvarenbeek.

In the wild only 2,500 of the animals are still alive, the park reports, but this newborn is doing well.

‘We have every confidence that it will grow up,’ head of animal care Kris Jansen said.

The mother panda was pregnant for four and a half months and the animal was born at the beginning of July. The zoo does not yet know if it is male or female.

‘In its first period, the young panda is fragile and so we are leaving the mother and father and their son or daughter in peace,’ he added. ‘We disturb them as little as possible, don’t enter the nest and this is why we don’t know the gender of the newborn. Only after three months or so will the young come out of the nest.’

However, visitors to the zoo might catch a glimpse of the baby red panda if the mother is cleaning up the nest or temporarily away. Red pandas mostly live in mountainous forests in China near fast-flowing rivers, and eat bamboo, fruit and flowers. They grow to about 50 or 60 cm in height and weigh between three and six kilos, the safari park reports.