--- description: Rusty the red panda at the National Zoo is now a father of three. title: WATCH: Rusty The National Zoo's Red Panda Is Now a Dad and These Are His Babies image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Red Panda That Escaped From The National Zoo Is Now a Dad  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jul 2, 2014 5:14 PM CUT  by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Jul 2, 2014 5:14 PM CUT The Smithsonian National Zoo announced Wednesday that its red pandas Rusty and Shama have given birth to three cubs — and they have already [weaseled](http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Red%5FPanda "undefined") their way into our hearts. The [video above](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMRdZn5IdMk "undefined") shows Shama cuddling with her babies after giving birth on June 26. “All four red panda pairs at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., successfully bred and had cubs this year,” according to the [National Zoo’s website](http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AsiaTrail/RedPanda/ "undefined"). “Of the 10 cubs, more born at SCBI than any other year, seven have survived.” You may remember Rusty as the little dude that literally had zoo officials seeing red when he [escaped](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2041628%5F2041646%5F2146232,00.html "undefined") from his enclosure in the Asia Trail section last summer. Rusty was later found in Adams Morgan, a D.C. neighborhood known for its nightlife. Time will only tell whether the cubs will inherit their father’s penchant for party animal antics. (h/t [_DCist_](http://dcist.com/2014/07/photos%5Frusty%5Fthe%5Fred%5Fpanda%5Fbecomes.php#photo-1 "undefined")) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2950973/red-panda-zoo-dad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2950973/red-panda-zoo-dad/"},"headline":"Red Panda That Escaped From The National Zoo Is Now a Dad","datePublished":"2014-07-02T17:14:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:11:20.661Z","description":"The mother, Shama, looks especially bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in this video","url":"https://time.com/2950973/red-panda-zoo-dad/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2950973/red-panda-zoo-dad/","name":"Red Panda That Escaped From The National Zoo Is Now a Dad"}}]}] ```