One-year-old giant panda Huan Cai dies of acute hemorrhagic necrotic enteritis

(ECNS) -- Giant panda Huan Cai died of acute hemorrhagic necrotic enteritis on Oct. 2, according to a post on the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda's WeChat account released on Wednesday.

The panda appeared to be depressed and refused to eat at around 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 1. A medical team immediately conducted an examination and provided symptomatic treatment. However, it suddenly produced blood stools at 9:40 p.m. and its condition rapidly deteriorated. It passed away in the early morning of the next day despite expert intervention.

After viewing several test results, experts ruled out the possibilities of foreign object ingestion and food poisoning. They confirmed that the death was caused by acute hemorrhagic necrotic enteritis but didn't find clear pathogenic microorganisms. This type of disease strikes suddenly and progresses rapidly, posing a severe threat to life, but its pathogenesis is not yet fully understood. 

Huan Cai was born in Chengdu on June 22, 2022. Its mother Mei Huan and aunt Mei Lun were the first surviving panda twins in the United States. They were born at Atlanta Zoo in Georgia, the U.S., and returned to China in 2016.