Torontonians are showing their support to the Toronto Zoo after its 10-year-old female red panda died overnight.
On Thursday, the zoo shared the news in a social media post revealing that Sakura passed away overnight. It said that the red panda was dealing with some health challenges in the past few months and as a result, preliminary testing showed that she experienced a cardiac arrest during the night.
“An MRI scan of her brain did not reveal the cause of her neurological signs. However, we do not know if this was a primary heart event or something systemic that led to cardiac arrest and thus, we are doing extra testing to figure that out,” the zoo said in the post.
This comes just three weeks after her male red panda cub died at only six weeks old.
Last week, the zoo was mourning the loss of Trilly the moose, one of two residents at the zoo. Prior to this, the zoo’s youngest Masai giraffe also died during a castration procedure.
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Sakura arrived at the local zoo from the Greater Vancouver Zoo earlier this year to enjoy her retirement. That is why the staff was shocked to learn that she was pregnant on arrival. She would go on to give birth to two red panda cubs on June 13.
Currently, the zoo is directing its full attention towards the last remaining female panda cub, who is nicknamed “Biggie.” The zoo says it is providing her with supplemental feedings to give her the best chance of survival, however it notes that the first year of a red panda cub’s life is the most challenging.
Biggie is two months old and has been putting on weight rapidly while being fed formula, according to the zoo.
“Wildlife care staff are now providing all care for Biggie and are planning to keep her in her current habitat as she is familiar with the space, and it is all set up as needed for biosecurity, environmental parameters, feeding, and monitoring,” the zoo said.
The zoo explained that in order to keep an eye on the cub’s development, she will be weighed after every feed, and have her temperature taken twice a day. She will also receive daily assessments from veterinary staff.
REACTION FROM THE COMMUNITY
Following the death of the red panda, Torontonians have taken to social media to share both condolences and concerns about the facility.
“This is an unusual amount of animal losses recently…Really wondering what’s going on over there,” one Instagram user said.
“Sending hugs and prayers to the people who loved and cared for Sakura. She will be missed by so many. Thank you to the zoo staff and keepers who took amazing care of her and continue to watch over Biggie,” another user said.
“I am sorry for yet another huge loss for the Zoo. Although sometimes expected they still are never easy. I 🙏🏻 for Biggie that she will continue to thrive,” another user commented.
