Red panda Esha creates a buzz at new Peak Wildlife Park home

An endangered red panda is settling in well after swapping the English Riviera for a new enclosure at Peak Wildlife Park in Staffordshire.

Three-year-old Esha travelled to the Midlands on Friday from her previous home at Paignton Zoo in Devon, and once settled in will be joined by her sister, Riya.

Red pandas are endangered due to habitat loss and poaching in the wild.

However institutions such as Peak Wildlife Park, situated on the Staffordshire Moorlands, close to the Peak District National Park, provide a suitable environment for them in a cold climate, with specially-built enclosures simulating a wild climate.

Park director James Butler told the PA news agency: “There was a real buzz about Esha arriving on Friday and she’s settling in really, really well.

Red panda Esha explores her new enclosure at Peak Wildlife Park (Jacob King/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Jacob King

“She seems to love the massive enclosure we’ve built especially for her and her sister, and once she’s had a bit more time to adjust, we’re excited to bring Riya to join her.”

The pandas are naturally found in the forests of the eastern Himalayas and southern China and are officially classed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).