Rakesh the red panda dies at Greater Vancouver Zoo

An endangered red panda has died at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Langley.

Rakesh was transferred to the Greater Vancouver Zoo from the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg just two months ago.

According to a necropsy performed by a veterinarian with the B.C. Animal Health Centre, the death in captivity last week was caused by pulmonary blastomycosis, a fungal disease.

"As the animals were immediately quarantined – as required by AZA and CAZA [Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums] protocols – and this disease does not typically occur in British Columbia it is most likely that Rakesh was infected before leaving Manitoba. Further confirmatory tests are being conducted by the BC Center Center for Disease Control," the Greater Vancouver Zoo said in a news release on August 22.

"Rakesh and his sibling Arun arrived from the Assiniboine Zoo in Winnipeg just over two months ago as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival program (SSP). The SSP program helps the survival of species that are threatened or endangered in the wild by maintaining genetic diversity through managed breeding programs."

The Greater Vancouver Zoo's vet is treating Arun with medication as a precaution.

There are less than 10,000 red pandas in the world, according to the zoo.

Opened in 1970 as the Vancouver Game Farm, the zoo became known as the Greater Vancouver Zoological Centre and got its current name in 1999.