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‘Superstar’ panda Kush put down following illness

Thursday, 2 December 2021

Kush dies Photo credit: Stephen CorranAn endangered panda called Kush, who was one of the Curraghs Wildlife Park’s most famous animals, has been put to sleep following a short illness.

The red panda shot to fame in recent years after escaping from his enclosure on two separate occasions before being safely returned to the park.

Following his adventures the eight-year-old had become a dad for the first time in 2020 with partner Sara – with the proud pandas welcoming the arrival of two more cubs this year.

General Manager Kathleen Graham said:

“Kush was a real favourite with everyone involved at the park and we are all saddened. The team did everything they could and I can’t thank them enough. They really couldn’t have done more.

“His wanderings were well-documented and made him a household name on the Island, but he was always been a superstar to everyone involved at the park.”

Kush, who was born at Highland Wildlife Park in 2013, had been popular with visitors since arriving at the park the following year.

In the wild red pandas are found in mountain forests of Asia and are classed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Recent estimates suggest there are only 10,000 left in natural habitat, but that figure could be as low as 2,500 some experts believe.

In 2019, the Curraghs Wildlife Park Conservation fund donated £1,200 to the Red Panda Network in 2019 to help plant more trees in Nepal to connect important Panda habitats.

Photo credit: Stephen Corran

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