The Santa Barbara Zoo is mourning the loss of Ruby, a 2-year-old female red panda who died following a sudden, unexpected medical crisis.
In an Instagram post, zoo officials say Ruby was admitted to the zoo's animal hospital over the weekend after experiencing a medical emergency.
Preliminary diagnostics indicate she had Addison's disease, a rare endocrine disorder that affects the body's ability to produce essential hormones. The zoo says the condition can be difficult to detect because animals often show few or no signs in its early stages.
Veterinary teams believe the physical stress of pregnancy, birth, and nursing likely triggered the crisis that led to her death.
Despite round-the-clock ICU care, oxygen support, extensive diagnostics, specialist consultations, and extraordinary efforts from veterinary and animal care teams, Ruby's condition rapidly declined.
Her death comes shortly after the loss of her newborn cubs. However, officials say veterinary teams do not believe the two losses were connected.
The zoo confirms pathology is underway to better understand what happened.
