Two red panda cubs at Denver Zoo are getting a little extra TLC from zoo staff after their mother stopped producing milk last week.
The yet-to-be-named brother cubs are receiving bottle feedings five times a day following a recent drop in weight, zoo officials said Wednesday.
Staff weighs the cubs each day, but noticed last Thursday that the cubs were lighter than they should have been.
That’s when they realized that the cubs’ mother, Faith, had stopped producing milk.
Wanting to give Faith another chance to care for her offspring, a veterinarian began monitoring the situation and providing supporting fluids.
But by Sunday, the vet determined the cubs had lost enough weight to require daily bottle feedings.
Zoo staff says the cubs are adjusting well to the feedings, and should gain two to three percent of their body weight daily.
These supplemental feeds are expected to last for another three months, according to Denver Zoo.
The brother cubs were born at the zoo on August 27. When Denver Zoo officially announced their birth last week, the cubs immediately melted the hearts of Coloradans.
Those wanting to catch a glimpse of the adorable cubs will have to wait just a little longer.
Zoo staff says it’ll be a couple more weeks before the public can catch them hanging out in the zoo’s red panda enclosure.
