Red panda conservation: How building trust helps

Red pandas are one of the world’s most recognizable animals, and one of the most vulnerable, with as few as 2,500 left in the wild. Protecting them takes a collaborative effort, from habitat protection to the day-to-day care happening in accredited zoos. At Lincoln Children’s Zoo, that care starts by building trust through positive reinforcement training, which lets the animal care team monitor each red panda’s health without added stress.

Red pandas are endangered, with the wild population down 50% over the last two decades.

At Lincoln Children’s Zoo, positive reinforcement training lets red pandas voluntarily participate in their own care.

Red pandas choose to take part in exams, ultrasounds and X-rays with no restraint or anesthesia.
The trust the care team built with red pandas made wellness checks possible during a rare triplet pregnancy in 2024.

Red pandas may be one of the world’s most recognizable animals, but they’re also one of the most vulnerable.

Red panda characteristics

Understanding what makes red pandas unique is the first step in protecting them.

Native to the Eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, red panda populations continue to decline due to habitat loss, forest fragmentation and human activity.
Over the last two decades, the red panda population has declined by 50% — as few as 2,500 may remain in the wild.
Despite their name, red pandas aren’t closely related to giant pandas. They were described by scientists 50 years before the giant panda, making them the “original panda.”
Red pandas are also the only living member of their own unique family: Ailuridae.

Building trust between red pandas, zookeepers

Protecting this endangered species requires a collaborative conservation effort. This includes habitat protection, field research, community partnerships and carefully managed populations in accredited zoos. That conservation work begins by building trust.

At Lincoln Children’s Zoo, animal care extends far beyond providing enriching habitats and balanced diets. A vital part of animal care used by the animal care team is positive reinforcement training.

How does positive reinforcement training work?

Positive reinforcement training allows animals to participate in their own healthcare. When a red panda does something the animal care team asks of it, it earns a reward, such as a favorite treat. Over time, these small, positive moments build trust between the animal and the care team. This trust makes low-stress care possible.

Red pandas are never restrained or sedated for healthcare checkups. They choose if they want to participate. This gives the red pandas choice and control throughout every session.

Trained behavior examples

Some examples of these trained behaviors are:

Offering a paw to a zookeeper
Laying down in a specific location so the veterinary team can administer a shot or perform a blood draw

This training helps ensure the zoo provides veterinary care to the red pandas that would otherwise be difficult or stressful.

Meet Tian and Rowan

Lincoln Children’s Zoo is home to two red pandas: female Tian and male Rowan. Both are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Red Panda Species Survival Plan (SSP), which manages the red panda population across accredited zoos to maintain genetic diversity and support the long-term conservation of the species.

For red pandas participating in the SSP, monitoring reproductive health is essential. Veterinary staff needs to perform ultrasounds to help make informed decisions on the panda’s health.

Thanks to years of positive reinforcement training, Tian and Rowan voluntarily participate in ultrasounds and medical exams, with little to no stress and no anesthesia. This helps the veterinary team monitor their health closely while keeping the panda’s welfare top of mind.

How a simple station makes exams possible

To make these examinations work, both Tian and Rowan are trained to approach a designated station. It has an elevated spot where they place their front paws, encouraging them to stand in a position that allows the veterinary staff to perform ultrasounds, X-rays and basic physical exams.

And as a reward, Tian and Rowan receive their favorite treat, apples, and specially formulated leaf-eater biscuits.

The red pandas can leave the station whenever they want. This freedom lowers stress, deepens their bond with the care team and lets staff catch health issues earlier.

How trust made a triplet birth a success

In 2024, Tian gave birth to triplets — a rare event that would test everything the care team had built.

Raising triplet red pandas is uncommon, and the first few months are critical. Because Tian trusted her care team, zookeepers could conduct regular wellness checks on each cub, including weight measurements and physical exams to ensure they were growing and developing as they should.

The red panda triplets became one of only three sets of triplets known to ever thrive in human care. Their birth represented 25% of all red panda births in AZA-accredited organizations in 2024, making them an incredibly important contribution to the Species Survival Plan.

In 2025, each cub moved to another AZA-accredited zoo based on an Species Survival Plan breeding recommendation. Their genetics are valuable for the future of red pandas in human care. Moves like this help maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population for future generations.

How you can help red pandas

Every healthy cub strengthens the future for red pandas, but conservation reaches far beyond zoos. Red pandas are an umbrella species. When you protect them, you help protect one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems and everything living in it.

Around the world, conservation organizations work to restore habitat, reduce human-wildlife conflict, educate local communities and combat illegal wildlife trade. Accredited zoos support this work through field conservation, educating millions of guests each year and maintaining healthy populations through the Species Survival Plan.

Lincoln Children’s Zoo is also a member of the Red Panda AZA SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction), a program that gathers the collective expertise from AZA-accredited institutions around the world to work together and help save animals from extinction.

You can help red pandas too by:

Supporting AZA-accredited zoos that invest in conservation, education and animal welfare
Considering supporting organizations working to protect red panda habitats in Asia
Choosing products that help reduce deforestation
Spreading the word! Help share the story of this remarkable species with others

Behind every ultrasound, every healthy cub and every successful breeding recommendation are years of hard work that builds trust. While much of this work happens behind the scenes, its impact extends far beyond the zoo’s gates. By combining exceptional animal care with conservation, Lincoln Children’s Zoo is helping to ensure a future for one of the world’s most remarkable endangered species.