Whipsnade's baby red pandas emerge for the first time

The first pictures have emerged of the adorable red panda twins that were born at Whipsnade Zoo in June this year.

The zoo keepers have named the babies Bert and Ernie after the popular Sesame Street pair.

See also: What gives this baby red panda the shock of its life?​

Up until this week the pandas have remained inside their nesting box, but their mother Tashi has started carrying them outside this week.

Senior Keeper at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, Stephen Perry said: "It's been magical to see the baby red pandas out and about for the first time.

"Red pandas can be difficult to observe due to their shy and secretive nature, their nocturnal habits and the fact that they spend most of their time up trees.

"We never see much of their babies for the first couple of months of their lives but it's worth the wait. They're incredible and beautiful creatures, and a real visitor favourite.

See also: Red panda shows tourists its gymnastic pull-up skills

"Tashi is a brilliant mum, and when the weather gets warmer you sometimes catch her carrying the babies between nesting boxes to find the coolest one for them."

According to Whipsnade, Bert and Ernie are the fourth and fifth cubs that Tashi has given birth to at the zoo.

The animals are part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) as red pandas are in the Vulnerable category of the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species.

Red pandas are usually found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and south China and there are thought to be about 10,000 living in the wild.

Bert and Ernie aren't the only two new arrivals, Whipsnade recently welcomed a new baby rhino, named Bali. The one-horned rhino calf was born on 22 September to 19-year-old mother, Behan.

Whipsnade has an incredible rhino breeding record and Bali is the 14th one-horned rhino calf to be born at the zoo.

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