ZOO bosses have reacted with pride and delight to the surprise arrival of a tiny new addition to their collection.

A baby red panda was born at Flamingo Land, near Pickering, earlier this summer and has just started exploring the wider world.

The youngster was discovered by one of the zoo keepers within a nest box early in June and for the first 10 weeks disturbance was kept to a minimum to allow the mother to deliver the required care.

Now keepers have sexed it as a female – although she has yet to be given a name.

Her parents, Tai Jang and Bai Jiao, have been resident at the zoo for two years and have been on display since January 2014.

“This is the pair’s first cub, so it is a very exciting time for the staff here and we are delighted at the cub’s progress so far,” said a spokesman.

The red panda looks similar to a raccoon. Predominantly red in colour it is not related to the giant panda, despite its name.

The only similarities between them are that they are both native to China, their diet mainly consists of bamboo, and they have a modified wrist bone which can be used as an extra digit.

However, although protected, their numbers are dwindling in the wild and they are officially classed as a vulnerable species.

Because of its secretive and largely nocturnal nature the global population is difficult to determine but is believed to be around the 10,000 mark.

*The zoo has also announced the birth of a second Rothschild giraffe on August 20. It takes the number of giraffes at the zoo up to ten.