Taronga Zoo Has Just Welcomed Two Adorable Red Panda Cubs and You Can Watch Them From Home

When lunar new year arrived earlier in February, the year of the tiger kicked into swing — but 2022 just might be the year of the red panda, too. Pixar's next animated flick about a girl who turns into a red panda, called Turning Red, hits streaming in March, and Taronga Zoo has just announced that it's now home to a couple more of the IRL critters. And if you'd like to spend your time checking out the latter right now, no matter the weather or where you live, the Sydney spot has also launched a red panda cub cam.

The word you're looking for? Or the sound, to be more accurate? Yes, it's "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww". The two cubs were born back on December 8 to mum Amala and dad Pabu, and don't yet have names, but you can now watch them from home whenever you like.

Taronga's red panda cub cam is free, too, and features videos of the little cuties being born, plus weekly highlights showcasing what they've been up to. So, you can't live-stream them all day every day, but you can still get a huge dose of adorableness.

The camera is currently trained on the cubs' purpose-built, soundproof nest box, where they've been living with Amala since birth. Expect to see plenty of mum as well, with Taronga's Carnivore Keeper Rebecca Baldwin advising that she's usually on hand looking after her little ones.

"Amala is very attentive and nurturing. Through the monitoring of our CCTV cameras, we can see that she is constantly grooming and cleaning the cubs and is encouraging them to take their first wobbly steps within the security of their nest box," said Baldwin.

"Whilst they are still small and weighing only a couple of hundred grams, the cubs are spending their time within the security of their nest box which makes for great viewing. They won't start to venture out under the cover of darkness until they're about 12 weeks old," said Baldwin.

Taronga already lets you fill your time staring at capybaras, seals, meerkats, otters, sumatran tigers, lions and elephants, all without leaving your home, thanks to its online TV channel — but if it keeps adding cameras, we'll keep watching.

Taronga Zoo Sydney and Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo started their online streams in 2020 for obvious reasons, and also releases regular videos across its Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels — and makes keeper talks and other clips available online as well.

To watch Taronga Zoo's red panda cub cam, head to the zoo's website. To check out Taronga TV, head to the channel's website — or keep an eye on its videos on its Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages.