Red Panda (Photo : Twitter)
Amy, the Wellington Zoo's red panda, had been euthanized.
After failing to recover from arthritis and kidney problems, Wellington Zoo has to put down the red panda.
The zoo said that the 15-year-old red panda was diagnosed with the said illnesses in November 2014. Since then, she had been receiving treatments from the zoo's veterinary team.
However, during the health check on Monday, the staff found her condition had worsened and the treatment they had been giving was no longer effective. Hence, the decision to euthanize her.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Wellington Zoo chief executive Karen Fifield said that those kind of decisions are always hard for them. "It comes down to the animal's welfare and ensuring that we do what is in their best interest."
She added that Amy was old for a red panda and that her health was deteriorating rather quickly. "After careful consideration of whether we could provide treatment to manage her pain and health issues, it was agreed that euthanizing her was the most humane and respectful thing to do."
In reference to The Dominion Post, red pandas in the wild have an average life span of eight years.
Amy was a part of the International Breeding Programme for red pandas. She was able to produce two offspring during her life at Wellington Zoo.
One of her offspring, Sir Ed, was born in 2007 and now lives at Bristol Zoo; while the other, Manasa was born in 2009 and still calls Wellington Zoo home.
Amy was a favorite in the zoo. She was popular with visitors, many of whom has had close encounters with her. Red pandas are native to the eastern Himalayas and southern China.
Red pandas have a thumb and furry feet which help them grip as for the reason that they spend most of their time up in trees.
The major peril that the red pandas are facing nowadays in the wild is habitat loss due to deforestation.
