The one-year-old female was brought from the Salzburg Zoo on Tuesday and released into an enclosure that had already been home to a representative of the species years ago, the Ljubljana Zoo said.

Its new home is part of a natural forest and includes old-growth trees, a small pond and man-made nooks and crannies where the red panda can seek shelter.

The female will not be alone for long, as the zoo plans to bring in a young male for mating next year.

The species is considered vulnerable in the wild and breeding in captivity is closely monitored.

Red pandas are omnivores, but they eat mainly bamboo. The Ljubljana red panda will get its greens from a bamboo farm in Nova Gorica, where fresh bamboo will be sourced three times a month and kept in cool storage at the zoo.