An An, the world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity, has died at age 35 in Hong Kong after suffering from poor health.
An An, who was the human equivalent of 105 years old, lived most of his life at Ocean Park after he and a female panda were gifted to Hong Kong by China in 1999. The female panda, Jia Jia, died in 2016 at age 38, becoming the oldest-ever panda in captivity.
The Hong Kong theme park that housed An An mourned the panda as a family member who built bonds with locals and tourists.
“An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed,” Paulo Pong, chairman of Ocean Park Corporation, said in a statement.
Visitors write notes to mourn the death of Chinese giant panda An An at the Ocean Park of Hong Kong on Thursday. AP
The 35-year-old giant panda was mourned as a family member at the park. APAn An had high blood pressure, a common condition among geriatric pandas. Over the past three weeks, An An had been kept out of sight from visitors at the park as his health took a turn for the worse.
He stopped eating solid food and was significantly less active in recent days.
Last week, hundreds left comments on an Ocean Park post about An An’s condition, wishing him a speedy recovery.
An An suffered from high blood pressure, and before his death he stopped eating solid food. APHe was euthanized to prevent further suffering Thursday morning after veterinarians from Ocean Park and government authorities consulted the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Ocean Park said.
“An An lived a full life that ended at the respectable age of 35 — the equivalent of 105 years in human age,” the statement read.
Hong Kong was given another panda pair — Ying Ying, a female, and a male, Le Le — in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to China.
A female panda, Jia Jia, died at Ocean Park in 2016 at age 38, becoming the oldest panda in captivity. AFP via Getty ImagesChina commonly engages in “panda diplomacy” where the mammals exclusively found in China are leased to other countries, for up to $1 million a year, as a sign of goodwill.
Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, two giant pandas, have been living at the Washington, DC National Zoo for years as part of a commercial agreement between China and the US.
There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and about 500 in captivity worldwide.
Earlier this month, Mexico’s oldest panda, ShuanShuan, died on her 35th birthday at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City.
With Post Wires
