A project to bring two red pandas to Edinburgh Zoo has been given a £25,000 funding boost.

The People's Postcode Lottery awarded the cash to conservation charity the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS).

The extra funding will go towards the development of an enclosure for the two red pandas.

RZSS is one of 57 charities that will receive the extra £25,000 award from players of the charity lottery.

Last month RZSS celebrated receiving half a million pounds since the beginning of 2014, which has helped support vital conservation and research projects as far afield as Uganda and Brazil.

Barbara Smith, managing director for the RZSS, said: “As a conservation charity we are delighted and grateful to be receiving this additional sum from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. Two male red pandas are due to arrive later this year at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo and this surprise funding will make a huge contribution towards the creation of an enclosure for them.”

Darren McGarry, head of living collections at the zoo, added: “We’re delighted to be bringing red pandas back to Edinburgh. Our sister park RZSS Highland Wildlife Park houses red pandas and has had great success in breeding this endangered species, with a male kit born for the first time in over a decade in 2013 and a male and a female in 2014. In the future we hope to replicate this success at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo. To start with we will support the captive breeding programme as a male holder, but in the future we will house a breeding pair.”

Clara Govier, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “We are very proud that our players can continue to support the development of fantastic causes, including the new red panda enclosure at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo.”

The RZSS Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie has played host to a breeding pair of red pandas since 2012, while the species has been at the Park since 2008.

Red pandas are listed as endangered and are native to the eastern Himalayas and south central China.

They are not related to giant pandas, but are distantly related to the raccoon family and are slightly larger than domestic cats.