Buttonwood Park Zoo mourns death of red panda Marie

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — Buttonwood Park Zoo announced that red panda Marie had died on May 28.

The zoo said that Marie had been placed under veterinary care due to weakness in her left hind leg, which stemmed from spinal cord inflammation.

She later died due to liver failure because of embolisms.

Marie arrived at the zoo in 2019, and later gave birth to Kodo in 2020, and Pip and Sprout in 2023.

The zoo said that Marie had been a star of the “Red Panda Cam,” which allowed viewers from around the world to view the zoo’s red pandas.

“Marie was one of the most beloved and recognized animals here at BPZOO,” Zoo Director Shara Rapoza said. “For those of us who had a chance to care for her, we knew her as a gentle soul who loved apples and grapes and snuggling into the pine tree in the back corner of her habitat. She was a wonderful ambassador for her species, and mother to Kodo, Sprout, and Pip. The loss we feel is immense, but we take comfort in knowing her legacy lives on in Kodo’s offspring.”