SCOTS animal lovers have been left heartbroken as Edinburgh Zoo’s oldest red panda has passed away.
The male red panda, Kevyn, is the third red panda to have died at the zoo in the past three months.
He is said to have died of age-related health issues, with the zoo stating that the animal was taken close care of in his last moments.
The 14-year-old panda was housed at Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie for ten years, before moving to Edinburgh Zoo in 2022.
The zoo announced Kevyn’s passing on social media yesterday, saying: “We are sad to share the loss of Kevyn, our eldest male red panda, who passed away this weekend.
“At 14 years old, Kevyn had been facing age related health issues and was being cared for closely by our expert keepers and vets.
“After spending 10 years at Highland Wildlife Park and fathering seven kits, he moved to Edinburgh Zoo in 2022, where he has been living with our new female, Priya.
“He was a favourite among staff and visitors during his time at both our charity’s zoos and will be hugely missed.”
The post received over 1,100 likes and 25 comments, with many sharing memories of the adorable tree-dwelling mammal.
One user said: “I am so sorry and so soon after the baby red panda as well, this will be hard on the keepers”.
Another commented: “So very sorry, we saw lovely Kevyn on our visit on Christmas Eve”.
And a third stated: “Aw that’s such sad news and I’m privileged to have seen some. They are amazing.”
Late last year, two other red pandas passed away in Edinburgh Zoo, one of which was only three months old.
It is believed that the baby, named Roxy, died due to stress caused by bonfire night fireworks and devastatingly choked on her own vomit in November – only five days after the death of her mother, Ginger.
Red pandas are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due mainly to habitat loss, and there are now only two left in Edinburgh Zoo, called Priya and Bruce.
