Red pandas prove it's never too late to fall in love

KAWASAKI, Japan (Reuters Life!) - After eight years of living together, two red pandas past their prime have fallen in love and discovered the art of kissing.

Red pandas are solitary creatures that usually only mingle during their fertile period and normally live for about 10 years.

But the couple at Japan's Kawasaki Yumemigaoka zoo is an exception.

The male and female pandas, now aged 14 and 12 respectively, were kept together for years in the hope that they would breed.

They only started displaying affection towards each other earlier this year and now spend a lot of time locking lips and napping, curled up together.

Red pandas are found across the Himalayan mountains and foothills of northern India, China, Nepal and Bhutan. Experts believe as few as 2,500 survive in the wild where they are threatened by deforestation and poaching.