‘Calm and curious giant’: Zoo announces death of Sichuan takin

Panda, a Sichuan takin who lived at the Assiniboine Park Zoo for eight years, is pictured in this undated image. (Facebook/Assiniboine Park & Zoo)

The Assiniboine Park Zoo has announced the death of Panda – a Sichuan takin that’s been with the zoo since 2018.

The zoo announced Panda’s death in a social media post on Friday, saying he was euthanized following a decline in his quality of life resulting from arthritis and other chronic health conditions.

According to the post, Panda’s veterinary and animal care teams have closely monitored his health over the last few months. Despite ongoing treatment and care, Panda’s mobility continued to decline, and his care team made the decision to euthanize him.

The zoo described Panda as a “calm and curious giant,” who was “especially social with his care team.”

The social media post added that zoo visitors loved Panda and enjoyed coming up with theories about what animals he looked like.

“It was a privilege to see him through so many stages of his life as he grew into the calm, handsome giant we all came to know and love,” the zoo said.

Sichuan takins are large mammals that belong to the goat-antelope family. They typically live in high elevations and are native to Tibet and China.