Red pandas at Exmoor Zoo enjoy a cooling concoction on World Cocktail Day

The glamorous red pandas of Exmoor Zoo have been enjoying cool concoctions to cope with the warm weather and to celebrate World Cocktail Day today (Tuesday, May 13).

The zoo near Bratton Fleming is home to a family group of the rare mammals - mum Shifumi, dad Pan and Amber and Pumpkin, their first pups who were born last year.

Red pandas are typically found in high altitude forests in countries such as China, Nepal and Bhutan so the recent warmer UK weather has not been to their liking.

They have been getting ice packs twice daily, showers from the zoo’s keepers and now to mark World Cocktail Day, cool non-alcoholic cocktails - which it seems are definitely the way to a red pandas heart!

Above: Hmm, what’s this and is it up to my usual glamorous standards? Shifumi the red panda inspects her cocktail. Credit: Exmoor Zoo

Tina Rowtcliff at the zoo said: “Shifumi is by far the most out going in our family group and came down to investigate what all the glitz and glamour was about.

“After sniffing the concoction and realising that the pineapple was just a decoration, she quickly realised her favourite fruit, apple, was indeed part of the cocktail and took it off to eat.”

Above: Okay, perhaps I might give this a try, if I can get past all these decorations, cheers! Credit: Exmoor Zoo

There are thought to be less than 10,000 red pandas left in the wild although populations are scattered in fragmented groups, with Chinese and Himalayan red pandas believed to be two separate species.

Their main diet of bamboo and the temperatures in their native regions can fluctuate between hot and cold, depending on where the best bamboo is, but the recent warmth in the UK is certainly not to their liking.

Thankfully, having now discovered the joy of cooling drinks on World Cocktail Day, they have another way to keep cool in the manner to which they’ve become accustomed!

**** Does your pet enjoy a cocktail drink? If you’re marking World Cocktail day with your four-legged or even feathered friends, do send us a picture – email newsdesk@northdevongazette.co.uk