Britain's big freeze has claimed the lives of two rare red panda cubs at a safari park.
The tiny animals, born in the summer, were found in their nesting box and staff at the park said initial investigations indicated they had died from hypothermia and weaning problems.
Named Tala and Sumi, the young cubs were born to Emma and Lionel as part of a breeding programme for endangered species at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire.
Devastated staff at the attraction made an announcement on social media which read: "We know so many of you have loved seeing these beautiful creatures for yourselves and will share our sadness in having to say goodbye to them.
"Thank you for your understanding at this time, especially for our keepers who formed such a special bond with them both."
The mortality rate in young cubs is extremely high in the wild with only one in five red pandas surviving to adulthood in the wild.
Keepers at the safari had provided additional shelter, bedding and food but the cubs were still dependent on their mum.
It was thought that their mother Emma had stopped offering supportive feeds and this is the most likely reason for the cubs' demise, coupled with the sub-zero temperatures.
Although red pandas and giant pandas are unrelated they do share common characteristics and ancestors.
Two giant pandas are still based at Edinburgh Zoo.
The male Yang Guang, means Sunshine in Mandarin and Tian Tian the female, means Sweetie.
Both were born in August 2003 and turned 19 years old in 2022.
They are the only giant pandas in the UK and have been at th3 zoo since 2011 as part of a 10 year agreement the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), and the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
Despite many attempts, both natural breeding and artificial insemination, the pair have not managed to breed during their time at the zoo.
Thousands of visitors flock to the tourist attraction each year to see the pandas which was celebrated last year by the attraction on social media.
The zoo's post last year read: "Ten years ago today we welcomed a very special package!
"What a decade it's been since Tian Tian and Yang Guang arrived in Edinburgh.
"We still hope to extend their stay and remain in talks with our colleagues in China. We'll update everyone as soon as we can."
Edinburgh Zoo, which pays about one million dollars a year to rent the pandas was hoping to reach a new lease agreement with China in summer of this year.
In January 2021, RZSS’s chief executive David Field sent an email saying: “The agreement was signed in January 2011, but the effective end is December 2021.
“Any new extension should be agreed by June 2021.”
It was initially hoped that Tian Tian and Yang Guang would breed and produce panda cubs in Scotland. Unfortunately they have not done so.
The two pandas were flown to Edinburgh Airport from the Sichuan province in the 'FedEx Panda Express' cargo plane in 2011. It was specifically chartered for their journey.
