Bre Avery Zacharski
The Edinburgh Zoo, located in Edinburgh, Scotland, is an 82-acre non-profit zoological park that more than 2,500 animals call their home.
It’s the largest zoo in the country of Scotland, and they do have endangered red pandas living there.
Half of the red pandas in the world reside in the Eastern Himalayas, and they are protected in Myanmar, India, China, Bhutan, and Nepal.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland says that there are, unfortunately, fewer than 2,500 red pandas remaining in the wild, and poaching, as well as habitat loss, are contributing to their demise.
You might be surprised to learn that despite their name, red pandas are not actually related to giant pandas at all, and they are closer to skunks, raccoons, and weasels.
Earlier today, the Edinburgh Zoo released a statement announcing that their baby red panda named Roxie, who was only three-months-old, passed away after being stressed out over fireworks.
In Edinburgh’s city center on the night of November 5th, fireworks were set off for a bonfire night celebration.
“Roxie had recently lost her mum Ginger but was responding well to specialist care from our expert team and was feeding independently,” Ben Supple, the deputy chief executive for The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, explained in the statement.
“Very sadly, she choked on her vomit on bonfire night, and our vets believe this was probably a reaction to fireworks.”
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