The Nature Center is sad to announce the passing of our female red panda, Leafa, whose health had declined over the past few months.
Born in 2009 at the Red River Zoo in Fargo, ND, Leafa and her male counterpart, Phoenix, came to the Nature Center from the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago in 2018 as the first red pandas ever exhibited in Western North Carolina. “They were immediately embraced by all who came out to meet them and quickly became the most popular residents at the Nature Center,” says Erin Oldread, Curator of Animal Programs.
Red pandas are critically endangered due to rapidly declining habitat in their home range of Central Asia, so safe havens in zoos like the Nature Center are vital to their continued survival as a species. Over her lifetime, Leafa gave birth to eight cubs, greatly contributing to Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Red Panda Species Survival Plan.
“We are all heartbroken,” continues Oldread, “but we know that we did all that we could to give her a wonderful seven years with us.”