Open 361 Days a Year: Admissions 10:00am – 3:30pm; park closes at 4:30pm

Due to significant flooding and impassable roads in our region from Tropical Storm Helene, the WNC Nature Center is temporarily CLOSED.

All of our animals are safe and accounted for, and there is minimal damage to the habitats. However, Swannanoa River Road and the main bridge to the Nature Center were washed away, and it will take time to reopen. We will undoubtedly need your support as we rebuild.

Donations can be made at www.wildwnc.org/donate.

Red Panda

Ailurus fulgens

Appearance: Red pandas are, as named, covered in red fur with patches of black and white around their face and legs.

Behavior: These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft.

History: The red panda’s ancient cousin once lived in the Western North Carolina region. Bristol’s Panda (Pristinailurus bristoli) is an ancient North American relative of the living red panda whose fossils have been discovered at the Gray Archeological Site in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. Western North Carolina’s climate and ecosystem is almost identical to the lower mountain forests of Central Asia where red pandas currently live. The red panda is an endangered species with less than 10,000 (possibly as few as 2,500) of them in the wild. Their natural space is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of agriculture.

Range: They are native to Asia’s forest eastern Himalayas and southwestern China.

Diet: Bamboo makes up around 90% of the red panda’s diet, with the other 10% consisting of roots, succulent grasses, fruit, insects, and grubs.

Leafa

Date of Birth: June 11, 2009

Leafa was born at the Red River Zoo in Fargo, North Dakota. She is part of the AZA Species Survival Program and has had a total of 8 cubs! Leafa is more blonde than Phoenix.