Columbus Zoo celebrates 1st birthday of two red panda cubs

COLUMBUS — The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is celebrating the first birthday of two red panda cubs today.

Bandit and Santi were born on June 13, 2020 at 1:22 a.m. and 1:53 a.m., to mother, Kora and father, Gen Tso, according to the zoo’s website.

Their births marked the first successful red panda births at the Columbus Zoo since 2015.

The cub’s mother, Kora, made headlines soon after the cubs were born when she went missing from her habitat.

>> Columbus Zoo finds missing red panda

Once she was spotted, Kora climbed high into a nearby tree until zoo staff could remove her and reunite her with Bandit and Santi.