Endangered red panda dies, leaving mate alone at zoo — until now. See her new friend

An endangered red panda died at a Pennsylvania zoo this year, leaving his mate all alone. But now, a new companion has been shipped in from over 1,000 miles away.

The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium rolled out the red carpet for Marcy, a 2-year-old female red panda, according to a Nov. 16 news release.

Marcy was transported from a zoo in Fargo, North Dakota, and arrived Oct. 24, zoo officials said.

“The initial goal when receiving a new red panda is to acclimate the animal to the many new experiences her new home provides, from meeting and understanding her new keepers and the daily activity of the space to learning every square inch of her home,” Ray Bamrick, a zookeeper, said in the release.

“It is a great change to her life, and we work very hard at making these changes gradual and comforting,” Bamrick added.

Marcy will join Xia, a 12-year-old female whose mate, Kovu, died in July after the 9-year-old’s health quickly declined, according to a news release.

“Kovu was ‘Mr. Cool’ from the beginning,” Bamrick said. “He was one of the most confident and friendly animals at the Zoo.”

The goal is for Xia and her new companion Marcy to “coexist peacefully,” Bamrick said.

Red pandas, distinguished by their crimson fur and bushy, ringed rails, are native to central Asia, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

They spend most of their lives in trees and primarily eat bamboo, much like pandas, though the two species — despite sharing a name — are only distantly related, according to the WWF.

The animals can live to be 23 years old and are considered endangered, according to the Smithsonian Institution.

There are an estimated 10,000 red pandas in the wild, and their shrinking Himalayan forest habitat puts them at further risk, according to a 2022 study published by University of Queensland researchers.