(WBIR – KNOXVILLE) A 17-year-old "senior" red panda died Monday at the Knoxville Zoo.
In a Facebook post, Zoo officials said Madan the panda's health declined over the past few days despite extensive care given to the panda. He suffered a collapsed disk in his spine, which resulted in the loss of mobility in his lower body.
Zoo officials decided to humanely euthanize Madan when his quality of life was no longer enjoyable.
Madan came to the zoo in 2015 from the Memphis Zoo, and liked to spend his days napping away in the indoor viewing room of Red Panda Village.
Madan Red Panda
Madan had a long life for a panda. The average life expectancy is around 10 years, but it's not unheard of for them to live longer lives. One in Japan is actually 24!
Madan fathered ten cubs in his life, and has seven "grandcubs." Four of those cubs were born here in Knoxville; Tabei, Tenzing, Randy and Oliver. Randy and Oliver still live here.
The Knoxville Zoo is the top zoo in the world for the breeding of red pandas, with 108 red panda births-- more than any other zoo in the world for this subspecies.
There are four red pandas currently living in the Boyd Family Red Panda Village. A new male, Zhu, will be moving in in a couple of weeks.
