Seoul Grand Park introduced its first red panda twins
Haps Magazine reported that Maru and Marong, born June 19, went on view October 14, the first red pandas bred naturally at the park.
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Seoul Grand Park put its first naturally bred red panda twins on view on October 14. Haps Magazine reported on October 12, 2026, that Maru and Marong, born June 19, had started exploring beyond their indoor room under the care of their mother, Lian.
Their father, Ravi, arrived from Calgary Zoo in Canada through a species-survival plan. Lian came from Tama Zoological Park in Japan. The parents reached the park in 2023 through those exchanges. A public naming campaign chose the cubs' names: Marong, the female, with a hope that she would be warm and generous, and Maru, the male, with a sense of being precious. Both weigh more than a kilogram, have had their vaccinations, and have pine chips and climbing structures in the habitat.
The park said the twins are less active in the middle of the day, so a visit is more likely to catch them early or after 4 p.m. Viewing will widen only as keepers watch how the cubs handle it. A first public introduction is not a release, and the magazine does not claim one.
For the classroom
Haps Magazine reported that Seoul Grand Park introduced twin red pandas to visitors on October 14, 2026. The male, Maru, and the female, Marong, were born on June 19. Their mother is Lian and their father is Ravi. It is the first time the park has bred red pandas naturally. The cubs are learning to walk and climb, and each weighs more than one kilogram. Their names came from a public vote. Red pandas are often quiet in the middle of the day, so the zoo said people may have a better chance of seeing them in the early morning or after 4 p.m.
- Why might a red panda be easier to see early or late in the day?
- How did the public help name Maru and Marong?
- Where is Seoul, and what kind of forests do wild red pandas use?
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