International Red Panda Day, always marked in Japan

As regular readers know, I frequently write about the daily observances and commemorations in Japan. I have a genuine interest in them, sparked by a car navigation system! I find them fascinating, because I don't think there is anywhere else in the world that has so many anniversaries daily. And they are a really fun way to learn about Japan. 

But one annual observance I knew about long before I even had a car satnav is International Red Panda Day. That is because my local zoo, the excellent Saitama Children's Zoo, has always marked the day with an event. International Red Panda Day is on September 19th annually. And true to form, the zoo had a Red Panda event today, September 19th, 2026, to mark the event.

The purpose of the anniversary as well as the event in Saitama Children's Zoo (and probably other zoos around Japan) is to raise awareness about Red Panda which are classified as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List and have been listed since 2015. The Saitama Children's Zoo is one of about ten places you can see Red Panda in Japan.

Are there Red Panda in your local zoo? Where is that?