A red panda entered his new outdoor enclosure last week at Langley’s Greater Vancouver Zoo.
Arun is one of two male red pandas who arrived from the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg earlier this year.
Unfortunately, Arun’s companion, a male red panda named Rakesh, died unexpectedly earlier this year.
Rakesh died of blastomycosis, a disease caused by a fungus from decaying wood and leaves, often found in soil.
The zoo said the fungus does not typically occur in B.C. and Rakesh was likely infected before he left Manitoba.
Both animals had been in quarantine after their trip from Winnipeg.
Arun is part of a Species Survival Program run by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. There are fewer than 10,000 red pandas left, with the decline expected to continue due to poaching and habitat loss.
Red pandas are bamboo eaters like giant pandas, but they are not closely related to their much larger namesakes.
The zoo staff are thrilled with how Arun was doing in his new enclosure, said zoo manager Jody Henderson.