Red panda cub dies at Toronto Zoo, highlighting species fragility

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TORONTO - The Toronto Zoo says one of its red panda cubs has died, highlighting the fragility of the species in their first few months whether under human care or in the wild.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/08/2024 (788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – The Toronto Zoo says one of its red panda cubs has died, highlighting the fragility of the species in their first few months whether under human care or in the wild.

The zoo says two cubs were birthed in June by Sakura, a 10-year-old geriatric red panda who had arrived at the zoo earlier this year.

The zoo says Sakura recently began experiencing significant health issues, and staff stepped in to provide additional care for her cubs.

The Toronto Zoo says one of its red panda cubs died on Thursday, highlighting the fragility of the species in their first few months whether under human care or in the wild. A red panda is shown at the Toronto Zoo in a Saturday Dec. 26, 2009 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
The Toronto Zoo says one of its red panda cubs died on Thursday, highlighting the fragility of the species in their first few months whether under human care or in the wild. A red panda is shown at the Toronto Zoo in a Saturday Dec. 26, 2009 file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

It says while Sakura was receiving care, the smaller of the two cubs died Thursday when it was just shy of six weeks old.

A post-mortem examination found that the cub had multiple health issues, including no fat reserve and signs of lung aspiration.

The zoo says red pandas have low rates of offspring survival both in the wild and in captivity, and as a few as 40 per cent of cubs reach their first birthday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.

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