Lincoln Park Zoo Welcomes a New Red Panda this Chinese New Year

Chicago (February 17, 2026) – Just in time for the Chinese New Year, Lincoln Park Zoo has a new red panda resident! Qi (pronounced “chee”), an adult male red panda, is currently adjusting to his new home at Pepper Family Wildlife Center and can be seen intermittently while he gets to know his habitat mate Nisha.

Qi is 7 years old and comes to Lincoln Park Zoo from New York’s Prospect Park Zoo. He has a breeding recommendation with Nisha through the Red Panda Species Survival Plan®. This is a collaborative population management effort among institutions within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The hope is that the two will have cubs in the future.

“Red pandas are an endangered species, so the potential for cubs from Nisha and Qi is particularly exciting,” said Curator Cassy Kutilek. “In the meantime, it’s been fun for staff to get to know Qi’s personality, and we’re glad to share that he’s already settling in and exploring his new habitat.”

Red pandas have a native range spanning east Asia and the Himalayas. They live in bamboo forests throughout the mountainous regions that are common within this range. They have an extended wrist bone that acts like a pseudo-thumb, which allows them to get a better grasp on tree branches and bamboo. Just like Chicago, it can get quite cold in the mountains in red pandas’ native range, so the species has evolved to conserve heat. They can adjust their metabolic rate, curl up in a tight ball, and wrap their bushy tail around their body to provide extra warmth.

Red pandas were actually the first animal to be called a panda; black and white giant pandas were named after because people believed they were related to the smaller red species. Naturalists initially thought red pandas were related to raccoons before reclassifying them as bears. However, red pandas are now classified as the only living member of the Ailuridae family, which are distantly related to raccoons but classified separately.

Deforestation in the Himalayas is a huge thread to red pandas, leading to them being designated an endangered species with only an estimated 2,500 adults remaining in the wild. Up to 90% of a red panda’s diet is bamboo, so when the forests they call home are cleared for farming, they lose both the treetops they nest in as well as their primary food source.

About Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo inspires communities to create environments where wildlife will thrive in our urbanizing world. The zoo is a leader in local and global conservation, animal care and welfare, learning, and science. A historic Chicago landmark founded in 1868, the not-for-profit Lincoln Park Zoo is a privately-managed, member-supported organization and is free and open 365 days a year. Visit us at lpzoo.org.

Download video here