The Isle of Wight's Amazon World has said it is 'shocked and saddened' by the sudden death of one of its much-loved red pandas.

Keepers found Bert on the morning of Wednesday, July 19.

His death comes as a 'huge shock' as there was no visible indications he was unwell, the animal care team said.

Bert had had gastrointestinal health issues since his arrival in 2020, but this was being managed by keepers and the zoo vet.

Bert moved to the Island from Gdańsk Zoo in Poland, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A campaign was launched to ‘bring Bert to the Isle of Wight’.

A statement from Amazon World said: "Bert’s sudden passing has brought huge sadness to the team.

"He’s not only put huge smiles on his keepers' faces but was a firm favourite amongst all staff across the zoo and our wonderful supporters and visitors from across the world.

"It was a huge privilege for us all to have known him."

Red Pandas are mainly solitary animals in the wild, but Bert’s death has had an effect on female Xiao.

Keepers say they have been monitoring her behaviour closely and will continue to do so throughout the next few weeks.

A full post mortem investigation is being carried out to confirm the cause of death, the zoo said.