Panda Cub Suffocates to Death After Rope Wrapped Around Neck!
Regarding the death of panda cub “Lu Lu”,
2020 April 9, the panda center in Shenshiping Base, Sichuan, reported that panda cub “Lu Lu” (born August 10, 2019, female) died due to strangulation caused by the rope wrapping around its neck during exuberant ball climbing. At around 2:00 AM on the 9th, “Lu Lu” climbed onto a wooden frame with ball toys in the outdoor playground of the Shenshiping Base kindergarten and then wrapped the rope attached to the ball around its body, exhibiting struggling behavior. Within a few minutes, the cub stopped struggling and unfortunately died. Due to the late-night incident and the difficulty in distinguishing between the cub’s struggling posture and resting posture on the wooden frame, the night patrol personnel failed to notice any abnormalities. In the morning, the kindergarten feeding staff visited the feeding point and observed that most panda cubs were resting, without noticing any abnormalities (the deceased cub was facing away from the observation area, making it difficult to see its face from a distance; it appeared to be hanging on the wooden frame). The feeding staff discovered “Lu Lu’s” rope wrapped around its neck and forelimbs at the cat house playground at about 9:00, through contact and observation, they initially determined it was dead, and then notified the veterinarian; after examination by the veterinarian, samples were collected for testing.
We are deeply saddened by the loss of panda cub “Lu Lu”. This incident also made us fully aware that we have certain oversights in the safety management of giant pandas. We will learn from this incident and further strengthen the safety inspection and assessment of enrich items for young giant pandas, completely eliminate security hazards in the park; at the same time, we will strengthen night patrol to prevent such incidents from happening.
Source: China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center
