A red panda at the Taipei Zoo passed away last week after a battle with lymphoma, while the latest addition to the exhibit has now been introduced to the outdoor habitat, zoo officials said on Wednesday.
The female red panda Mei Ke (美可) passed away on Wednesday last week aged 15, considered old age for red pandas in captivity, Taipei Zoo director Chen I-tsung (諶亦聰) said.
She was one of three red pandas to arrive from the Straits Panda Research Center in China’s Fuzhou in 2014 with the goal of breeding, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
A computerized tomography (CT) scan during a regular checkup in May last year revealed an abdominal tumor, the zoo said.
Veterinarians were able to stabilize Mei Ke’s condition with steroid treatments, but another checkup early last month found the tumor had metastasized, it added.
The Taipei Zoo now has 12 red pandas in total, seven male and five female.
Meanwhile, visitors are now able to see the zoo’s newest addition to the red panda enclosure.
On Dec. 28 last year, the zoo received the four-year-old male Wei Lai (未來) from Japan’s Hamamatsu Zoological Gardens.
After nearly four months of acclimating to the other red pandas, Wei Lai is now ready to enter the regular outdoor habitat, the zoo said, adding that zookeepers would gradually extend his activity time until he feels comfortable in the new space.
After next month, he would take turns with Ke Le Guo (可樂果) using the outdoor habitat, it added.
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