Calgary Zoo euthanize 18-year-old red panda
Posted Jan 16, 2023 2:23 pm.
Last Updated Jan 16, 2023 2:24 pm.
The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo have put down 18-year-old red panda Dusk after progressive heart disease and advanced liver disease were hampering his welfare.
In a statement Monday, the zoo says it made the decision last week, and add Dusk was “geriatric for his species.”
Dusk has received care from the Animal Care, Health and Welfare (ACHW) team for some “age-related concerns,” including degenerative arthritis and chronic dental disease.
“The ACHW team made the difficult but compassionate decision to euthanize him,” the zoo’s statement read.
Dusk was born in 2004 and entered the zoo in 2013 when he was nine years old.
The red panda was a “conservation superstar” who did his part and had six cubs as part of the Red Panda Species Survival Plan (SSP). Dusk sired three-year-old Udaya, who then gave birth to two cubs in September of 2022.
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“Dusk spent much of his golden years behind the scenes in his private habitat where he could move at his own pace and enjoy some quiet time away from the more rambunctious young ones in our pack,” the zoo said.
“He will be fondly remembered for his mild-mannered nature.”
According to the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, red pandas have a life expectancy of 10 years. The zoo said his advanced age of nearly 19 years was due to the “incredible care he received from his care team throughout his lifetime.”
“He will be dearly missed by zoo staff, volunteers, and visitors alike but his legacy lives on at the zoo through his daughter, Udaya, and his grandcubs, Sundari and Ravi,” the zoo’s statement concluded.
