RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF MORTALITY IN THE NORTH AMERICAN CAPTIVE RED PANDA (AILURUS FULGENS) POPULATION, 1992-2012.

Red pandas ( Ailurus fulgens ) are managed as captive populations in both North America and Europe. Regular review of pathology reports is a useful tool for developing veterinary care and husbandry strategies for such populations. Though thorough pathology reviews have been conducted for the European studbook, the North American population has not been reviewed similarly until now. Complete gross and histopathology reports were requested from institutions holding red pandas that died during 1992 through 2012 (n = 530), and reports were received for 95.8% of the individuals, including full necropsy records for 366 red pandas. These reports were classified by subspecies, gender, and age, then reviewed for primary cause of death and secondary pathological findings. A substantial portion of the deaths (40.2%) were neonates (<30 days of age). In both neonatal and juvenile (age = 31-365 days) animals, pneumonia was the most common cause of death. In adult (age = 366 days-10 yr) and geriatric red pandas (age >10 yr), cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death. Renal disease and gastrointestinal disease also were common pathologic findings in adult and geriatric animals. These findings suggest that stress associated with captivity and husbandry practices, including those associated with social, environmental, and nutritional conditions, may contribute to immune and cardiovascular pathologies, and other common necropsy findings.