FOTA Wildlife Park has announced the birth of two endangered red panda cubs.

Now just over three months old, the twins have spent their first few months safely developing in their nest boxes.

The park's animal care team recently observed the cubs becoming more active and playful while also starting to explore their surroundings.

Lead Ranger John Leahy said: “Although the cubs were born back in June, they have spent these early months sleeping, resting and feeding, with their mother Laxmi taking excellent care of them.”

He added the cubs, who haven't been named yet, were not generally out during the day but have been venturing out at dusk when the wildlife park is closed.

“We expect to see them becoming much more active during the daytime in the coming weeks,” he said. “They may still be quite small, but they already look like fully formed little red pandas. It is fantastic to see them developing so well.”

The established breeding pair at Fota are the cubs’ mother Laxmi and father Grga.

Laxmi came to Fota from Longleat Safari in England in July 2019 while their father Grga came from Zagreb Zoo in Croatia in June 2019. Both are eight years old.

John Leahy said Laxmi was a very experienced mother and has a very calm temperament which lends well to her having relaxed cubs. The cubs are Grga's fourth set of cubs at Fota Wildlife Park.

Rangers at the park say Grga will often come down from the trees to interact with the animal care team, especially for his favourite treat: grapes.

This week, Fota is inviting visitors to help choose names for the red panda cubs to celebrate International Red Panda Day on Saturday (September 19)

A suggestion box is now open and visitors can submit their name ideas for the twins and be in with a chance to win one of two Conservation annual passes.

Classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, red pandas face significant threats in the wild, with an estimate of between 2,500 and 10,000 remaining in their natural habitats.

Native to the temperate forests of the Himalayas, red pandas have a range extending from western Nepal through Bhutan, northern Myanmar and into southern and central China.

Despite their name, red pandas are not closely related to giant pandas and exist in their own distinct family.

Instead, they are distant relatives of racoons and coatimundis.

Fota Wildlife Park takes part in the Ex-situ Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for red pandas.