Edinburgh Zoo announces death of endangered red panda who was a ‘firm favourite’ with visitors

Staff said the cause of death is not yet known and a post-mortem will be carried out.

Arriving at the Edinburgh attraction in 2017, Ginger raised three kits at the zoo, including an adorable youngster who was born in July. Zoo keepers described Ginger as a ‘firm favourite’ with visitors and she was known to be more outgoing than male red pandas Kevyn and her partner Bruce.

Edinburgh Zoo shared the sad news on October 31 that red panda, Ginger, has passed away | RZSS

An Edinburgh Zoo spokesperson said: “We are sad to share the loss of Ginger, our eldest female red panda. It is not evident what the cause of death is at this stage and a full post-mortem will be carried out.

“Ginger was a firm favourite amongst our charity’s teams and our visitors. Her kit is just about old enough that she should be able to survive at this stage without her mum and our expert keepers will be keeping a close eye on her while she continues to grow.”

The sad news comes just days after the zoo announced the arrival of another female red panda, Priya, who now shares an enclosure with the zoo’s eldest red panda Kevyn. The arrival of Priya was described as ‘extra special’ as she is the granddaughter of Ginger.

Edinburgh Zoo is now home to four red pandas, which are recognised as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to habitat loss and poaching according to the WWF.