Red Panda Wally Turns 1 at Cape May County Zoo

The Cape May County Zoo introduced a male red panda named Dr. Stephen Wallace in May. The animal, nicknamed Wally, turned one year old on June 3.

Wally arrived from Zoo Knoxville, where he was born in a litter of two males. Zoo officials named him after a paleontologist who discovered red panda fossils at the Gray Fossil Site in East Tennessee. The fossils belonged to ancestors of modern Asian red pandas.

Keepers say Wally is curious and adventurous, exploring his habitat and interacting with staff members, especially during feeding times. Visitors can see him daily in the rear panda yard.

The zoo's other red panda, Ember, lives in the front yard. Zoo staff plan to introduce the two animals based on recommendations from the Red Panda Species Survival Plan program. Aurora, the zoo's former resident red panda, transferred to another facility following SSP guidance.

Red pandas live in temperate forests in the eastern Himalayan mountains of Asia and eat primarily bamboo. Their red coats earned them the nickname "firefox." Scientists identified red pandas 50 years before giant pandas.

The Cape May County Zoo opened daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. More information is available at CMCZoo.com.