Woodland Park Zoo mourns death of sweet-faced red panda, Stellar

Staff at the Woodland Park Zoo are mourning the death of Stellar, a 10-year-old red panda who moved to the zoo from Canada nine years ago.

Stellar had been feeling poorly for about two weeks and was having trouble moving and showing signs of pain, zoo officials said in a statement posted on Facebook Monday.

A diagnostic exam showed that she was anemic and had electrolyte abnormalities and skin lesions. Despite care, she continued to deteriorate. A second exam showed her anemia was more severe, and that fluid was accumulating in her chest and restricting her breathing. The decision was then made to euthanize her, the zoo said.

Red pandas — which are more closely related to raccoons, weasels and skunks than to pandas — have a life expectancy of about 10 years in zoos and eight years in the wild, zoo officials said.

“Stellar had a great personality and an adorable face that was hard to resist,” said curator Mark Myers. “She held a very special place in the hearts of her keepers and those in the community who had the pleasure of meeting her during special behind-the-scenes tours. It’s a very difficult loss for our staff and she’ll be missed very much.”

According to the zoo, Stellar had lived in an off-view enclosure since she arrived in 2008 from Edmonton Valley Zoo in Alberta, Canada under a conservation breeding program.