MADISON, Wis. — A week and a half after it was announced she had been diagnosed with bone cancer, Tai, the 14-year-old red panda at the Henry Vilas Zoo, has died.
In a Facebook post Friday afternoon, zoo staff said her condition did not improve after beginning treatment so she was humanely euthanized.
“We had hoped that chemotherapy was an option that would provide her with a few more good months or even years, but Tai’s behavior told us it was time,” the post reads. Our goal is always to provide a good quality of life, not just quantity of years.”
Zoo staff said late last month they began to notice Tai was showing signs of decreased mobility and had less interest in her food. A CT scan showed her bones showed signs of multiple myeloma.
Another red panda, Tarrei, died at the zoo in December at age 19.
RELATED: Bandit, Henry Vilas Zoo’s new red panda, makes public debut
Tai’s death leaves two-year-old Bandit as the zoo’s sole red panda. He arrived in Madison in July.
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