'Beloved' red panda dies at wildlife park

The keepers said Suri had been very popular with visitors

Zookeepers have said they are sad after a "beloved and cherished" red panda died.

Suri, who was more than 10 years old, had been at Paradise Park, in Hayle, Cornwall, since 2016, where she had taken part in visitor handling sessions, keepers said.

They said the wildlife sanctuary had given more than £20,000 to the Red Panda Network, a conservation and research group, from donations from the sessions.

Keeper Becky Waite said Suri had been very popular with visitors as she had often chosen to sit on their laps and be hand-fed while they learnt about the work being done to protect red pandas in the wild.

The Red Panda Network said the species had been affected by loss of habitat and wildlife trading

She said Suri had left her companion Jai-Li behind and the park was hoped to become the home for more red pandas in the future as part of a European breeding programme.

The Red Panda Network has reported that more than half the world's red panda population has been lost in the wild during the past 20 years due to continuous loss of habitat and wildlife trading.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, there are fewer than 10,000 red pandas remaining in the wild.

Almost 50% of the red panda's habitat is in the Eastern Himalayas.