TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An 18-year-old male panda at Taipei Zoo named Tuan Tuan (團團) suffered a serious seizure last month and a scan has revealed lesions in both hemispheres of the brain, raising concerns among veterinarians the condition could become fatal.

According to Taipei Zoo, Tuan Tuan, who had been sent to the zoo from China in 2008, suffered a seizure that lasted three minutes on Aug. 23 and subsequently lost his appetite. After a preliminary examination by veterinarians, Tuan Tuan was sent to the National Taiwan University Veterinary Hospital on Sept. 18 to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The scan revealed that both the left and right hemispheres of the brain had areas with liquefaction necrosis. The veterinarians also collected cerebrospinal fluid for analysis.

Tuan Tuan had been stable and eating regularly until mid-August, when zookeepers noticed that he was foaming at the mouth. Surveillance camera footage taken on Aug. 23 showed that Tuan Tuan had suffered a seizure for three minutes.

On Aug. 30 and 31, he suffered two more mild seizures that lasted about one to two minutes. Chen Yu-yen (陳玉燕), director of the Taipei Zoo Giant Panda House, was cited by TVBS as saying.

"This was a very sudden event. Tuan Tuan was in a stable state, eating and drinking as normal, and an MRI examination was arranged that revealed there were lesions in the brain, and the result surprised us too."

Veterinarian Cheng Chiu-hung (鄭秋虹) told the news agency that there are many causes for seizures, such as inflammation, infection, tumor, or stroke, and each must be ruled out one at a time. As for the risk of death, Chiu pointed out: "We can't say no, after all, it's an ongoing disease."

The zoo said that Tuan Tuan is out of exhibition area of the zoo undergoing recuperation and observation.  

Tuan Tuan's mate Yuan Yuan (圓圓) is still believed to be in good condition as are their offspring, 9-year-old Yuan Zai (圓仔), the first panda cub born in Taiwan, and her 2-year-old sister Yuan Bao (圓寶).

Tuan Tuan is placed in an air-conditioned truck to be transported to NTU Veterinary Hospital. (Taipei Zoo photo)

Medical staff prepare to place Tuan Tuan into MRI device. (Taipei Zoo photo)

Tuan Tuan wakes up after undergoing anesthesia. (Taipei Zoo photo)

MRI of Tuan Tuan's brain. (Taipei Zoo image)