‘Sakura’ the red panda dead after months of health challenges: Toronto Zoo

The Toronto Zoo has announced the death of “Sakura,” a 10-year-old red panda who died just three weeks after one of her cubs passed away.

In a social media post shared Thursday, the Zoo said Sakura died earlier this week after months of health complications.

“It appears from preliminary results that she experienced a cardiac arrest during the night,” a statement reads. “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 10-year-old red panda moved to Toronto from the Greater Vancouver Zoo earlier this year for a planned “retirement.”

After an unsuccessful breeding season, staff initially assumed Sakura’s fertility was on the decline, but to their surprise, she unexpectedly gave birth to two red panda cubs just months after arriving in Toronto.

Sadly, one of the two cubs died on July 31, but the death was not unexpected. According to the Zoo, red pandas have low rates of offspring survival and as few as 40 per cent of cubs reach their first birthday.

The Zoo says they will now focus their efforts on caring for the remaining cub, who goes by “Biggie.”

“We are now directing our full attention and energy into ensuring she continues to be well cared for and supported,” the Zoo said in a statement. “In anticipation of health issues with mom, Zoo staff had started supplemental feedings to give her the best chance of survival, and while we feel confident we are doing our best to help this cub grow, it should be noted that we continue to be cautiously optimistic as the first year of a red panda cub’s life is the most challenging.”

The Zoo says it will keep the cub in her current habitat as she is familiar with the space.