The Paradise Park community announced with great sadness the death of Suri, a female red panda who had lived in the Cornish wildlife park since 2016. The animal, now elderly – over ten years old, a significant age for the species – had become one of the most beloved symbols of the structure.
Suri was known above all for her extreme reserve, a trait that distinguished her from other specimens. What allowed her to overcome part of her fears was her friendship with Jai-Li, another female red panda with whom she had formed an unbreakable bond. Thanks to this inseparable companion, Suri found the courage to come down from the trees, participate in daily activities and approach visitors with caution.
With patience and positive reinforcement training, the keepers were able to accustom her to veterinary checks and controlled interactions. During the red panda experiences, many guests were able to hand feed her and observe the species up close. Suri often chose to sit on people’s laps.
An animal that has become an attraction
The park is responsible for the European red panda breeding programme, which is threatened by deforestation, habitat loss and poaching. An important project of which Suri was also part, but which cannot make us forget the less “romantic” aspect of this whole affair.
Suri has in fact spent her whole life far from the Himalayan forests and placed in a context built for the public. His natural shyness was slowly shaped to make interactions with visitors possible, transforming it – like it or not – into a kind of attraction.
It is the paradox of these structures: if on the one hand they support conservation projects, on the other they force these animals to live as objects of continuous observation. Suri never chose that role, yet she played it for years, without ever knowing the Himalayan forest in which her peers naturally live.
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