PHOTORGRAPHY

A Close Encounter with Red Pandas

Sharing from my visits to Rotterdam Zoo with facts and personal photos of these adorable furry animals

Red panda in tree — image by author — © Marie A. Rebelle

From June 2022 until June 2024, I had a subscription to the Rotterdam Zoo — Diergaarde Blijdorp.

I went there a lot on my own in 2022 to the end of 2023, but then I had less fun going. Much of this had to do with the changes in the park itself. It didn’t ‘feel’ like my zoo anymore, even though I agree with many of the changes they made.

Something else which came into play was that I bought myself an electric bicycle in February 2024. Whenever I wanted to go out by myself, I chose the bike, instead of getting in the car and driving to the zoo.

In the year-and-a-half that I went to the zoo frequently, I’d made a lot of pictures, some of which I want to share with you in several themed posts.

This one is about red pandas, as the header image undoubtedly had told you already.

Conservation and study of red pandas

Diergaarde Blijdorp coordinates the Global Species Management Plan, where they ensure the genetic diversity and health of the global population of red pandas in captivity. In this, they work…