Sequoia Park Zoo welcomes Henny, a new red panda from Buffalo Zoo

A new red panda has arrived at Sequoia Park Zoo, and the young female is already adding to one of Eureka’s most visible attractions. Henny came quietly from Buffalo Zoo in Buffalo, New York, and is now behind the scenes in the red panda habitat while she finishes a standard quarantine period.

The zoo said careful observers may have already noticed that a new panda face is home, even if Henny is not yet on public view in the usual way. Staff will introduce her gradually to Saffron, the young adult male who arrived in fall 2024 through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums red panda Species Survival Plan, while monitoring how both animals adapt to the habitat. Once that process advances, visitors may be able to spot Henny from the Redwood Sky Walk Ascent Ramp and the red panda viewing areas.

The move matters well beyond a single exhibit. AZA says Species Survival Plan programs are designed to maintain genetically diverse, demographically varied, biologically sound populations, and the organization currently manages nearly 300 of those programs across accredited institutions. Buffalo Zoo said on April 17, 2026, that Henny and another cub, Joy, were both just under a year old and were being transferred to new zoos under SSP breeding recommendations. Buffalo also said Henny originally arrived there through a partnership with Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan.

For Humboldt County, the arrival gives Sequoia Park Zoo a fresh draw heading into summer. The zoo, founded in 1907, says it is the oldest zoo in California and one of the smallest accredited zoos in the country. It has supported red pandas since the species first arrived there in 2010, making the species a long-running part of the park’s identity for Eureka families, school groups and repeat visitors.

Henny also comes into a habitat that has been changing. Sequoia Park Zoo broke ground on its Red Panda Improvement Project on Jan. 23, 2025, with support from a grant from the Christine and Jalmer Berg Foundation. The project was meant to improve visibility, increase habitat size and refresh interpretive elements, while giving staff a better setting for red panda care and, potentially, a future breeding pair.

The conservation backdrop is stark. Red pandas are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and conservation groups say wild populations have declined sharply because of habitat loss, fragmentation and poaching. Sequoia Park Zoo also supports the Red Panda Network’s work in Nepal, tying a familiar Humboldt attraction to a global effort to protect the species in the wild.