Assiniboine Park Zoo staff monitoring red pandas in light of B.C. death

Staff at the Assiniboine Park Zoo say they're taking extra measures to keep their red pandas healthy, in light of the recent death of a red panda — one that was born at the Winnipeg facility — in a zoo in British Columbia.

Rakesh, a 15-month-old male red panda, died of a fungal infection at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove, B.C., on Aug. 17, two months after he was transferred there from Winnipeg.

• Vancouver zoo's red panda death prompts protests

Dr. Chris Enright, head of veterinary services at the Assiniboine Park Zoo, confirmed that Rakesh and his brother were born at the Winnipeg zoo, then transferred to the B.C. facility.

Enright said he received word of the death soon after it happened It's always concerning to hear of an animal dying, he said, especially when it's from an endangered species.

"There's not that many individuals left in the wild, and in captivity, what we do with these species is we get people to care," he told CBC News on Monday.

"We get them to see that panda in front of them so they care about pandas in the wild, so we want to make sure that the ones in captivity have a long healthy life."

Jody Henderson, the Vancouver zoo's general manager, has told The Canadian Press that Rakesh was likely infected before leaving the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

She said veterinarians in Manitoba had not diagnosed Rakesh with the illness because he wasn't showing any symptoms and there was no information in his medical cards.

Rakesh's mom healthy so far

The Assiniboine Park Zoo is home to two red pandas — Rakesh's mother and father.

Enright said zoo staff have conducted preliminary tests on Rakesh's mother, since she had shared the same environment as her offspring.

"Everything's looking quite good so far. Clinically she's been doing well," he said.

"She's bright, happy, eating, maintaining her weight, maintaining her body condition. But we're going to be a little bit extra prudent and keep a close eye on her."

While all signs indicate that the mother has no sign of infection, Enright said test samples will be taken and sent to the United States for further analysis. It could take months before the test results come back, he added.

Rakesh's death has prompted activists to demand that the Greater Vancouver Zoo be shut down, citing the deaths of several other animals there in recent years.

Four zebras died in 2009, followed by two giraffes in 2011, and a Siberian tiger died suddenly last year.

A protest took place at the Greater Vancouver Zoo on Sunday, using Rakesh's death as an "unfortunate but necessary rallying point."