Folly Farm’s Last Red Panda Lotus Dies After Kidney Disease

Folly Farm has announced the heartbreaking news that their last remaining red panda, Lotus, has died. The 12-year-old female was put to sleep after suffering with chronic kidney disease following a rapid deterioration in her condition over the weekend.

Lotus had been a cherished resident at the Pembrokeshire zoo for around seven years, arriving in summer 2018 when the park’s Asian Adventure exhibit opened. Her passing comes just two months after her male companion, eight-year-old Baika, died due to a suspected heart attack.

The beloved red panda was diagnosed with a kidney condition in March this year, but her health declined rapidly over the recent weekend. “Given her age and the fact she wasn’t going to recover from the condition the difficult and most humane decision was to put her to sleep to end her suffering,” Folly Farm explained.

In a touching tribute posted on social media on Thursday, July 31, the zoo wrote: “Lotus was sweet in nature and had been at Folly Farm since the Summer of 2018 when our Asian Adventure exhibit opened. She will be greatly missed by her keepers and visitors alike. We hope to home red pandas again at Folly Farm. Our thoughts are with our keeping team at this sad time.”