Leo, a 5-year-old red panda died at Brookfield Zoo unexpectedly on Wednesday.
Leo came to Brookfield Zoo in 2018 and “immediately won over the hearts of his caregivers and zoo goers,” the zoo claimed in a Tweet.
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Leo liked to spend lots of time with his trainers. It also liked to play with paper boxes and eat dried cranberries.
Brookfield Zoo is sad to announce that Leo, our 5-year-old red panda, passed away suddenly. Born at Boise Zoo in June 2017, Leo came to BZ in 2018, where he quickly won over the hearts of his caretakers and zoo patrons while he resided in Hamill Family Wild Encounters. pic.twitter.com/7dRAejZFPC
— Brookfield Zoo (@brookfield_zoo) November 2, 2022
Even when it got colder, Leo stayed very active and kept exploring his surroundings at Hamill Family Wild Encounters.
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The zookeeper observed that painting on canvas was one of Leo’s specialties.
He said on social media that “Leo will be deeply missed by his animal care professionals and zoo visitors alike.”