toronto zoo

Toronto now has a giant red panda made of hay bales

The Toronto Zoo welcomed the birth of a baby red panda for the first time in more than 20 years this summer, and if you thought the pics of the new addition we're adorable, you've got to see how the zoo is commemorating the new member of the family in a seasonably spooky way.

As part of its Halloween event Boo at the Zoo, the zoo has created a perfectly autumnal rendering of one of its red pandas, complete with whiskers, a striped tail, witch's hat, pumpkins, and a cute little smiling mouth.

Visitors can go see the painted pal up close, along with fixtures like Jack Skellington and a hay bale version of Cinderella's coach, in a meander around the zoo's Hay-lloween Town exhibit, which was hand created by zoo staff and volunteers.

The 30-minute drive-thru showcase through fall colours and spooky decor also features commentary fit for the season in a special podcast that covers the history of animals in Halloween celebrations, ghosts that haunt the zoo, and more.

It's one of the few events still taking place in the city for the holiday, so residents looking for some seasonal fun will want to hit it up in the next week and a half before it wraps up on Oct. 31.

Lead photo by

The Toronto Zoo


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