Woodland Park Zoo’s geriatric red panda, Yukiko, was humanely euthanized on Oct. 27 due to advanced cardiomyopathy related to old age.
At 16 years old, Yukiko lived well beyond the life expectancy of his species. The median life expectancy for red pandas in zoos is 10 years and 8 years in their natural habitat.
Yukiko was born at Saitama Children’s Zoo in Saitama, Japan and lived at Red River Zoo in North Dakota. He moved to Woodland Park Zoo in 2014 under the Red Panda Species Survival Plan conservation breeding program.
Yukiko had 11 cubs—four at Woodland Park Zoo and seven at his former home.