West Midland Safari Park's first glimpse of red panda cub

The cub was captured on camera when mother Mei Lin carried it to a new nest box

The first red panda cub to be born at West Midland Safari Park has been captured on camera at a month old.

The newborn, an endangered species, was discovered after staff heard "tiny squeaks" from a nest box in June.

Mother, three-year-old Mei Lin, and male, Sanka, were introduced at the park just over a year ago.

"This is both a hugely exciting, but also nerve-racking time for us," said keeper Kyle Wingfield, adding Mei Lin showed "all the right maternal signs".

"Whilst this is incredible news, it's also important to remember that this is Mei Lin's first time at being a mum and she is doing a great job so far, but it is still very early days," he added.

Mei Lin arrived at the Bewdley attraction in August 2021, with Sanka arriving seven months later as part of a European zoo breeding programme.

Mother Mei Lin and father Sanka were introduced at the safari park just over a year ago

The species, native to parts of Bhutan, China, India and Nepal, is in decline, threatened by habitat loss, hunting and smuggling.

Keepers at the park are monitoring the cub from a distance and plan to carry out a health check at three months, when a name will be chosen.

Visitors are asked to keep noise levels down when visiting the red panda habitat to allow the new parents to adapt.