On Thursday the world lost its oldest male giant panda in captivity. Kept in an amusement park zoo in Hong Kong Zoo, An An, the panda was 35 years old, which is equivalent to a human being living till 105.
The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35.
An An lived most of his life at a Hong Kong theme park after he and a female panda were gifted to Hong Kong by China in 1999. https://t.co/mieLu5QDxs pic.twitter.com/7xrcE3rebp
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 21, 2022
The animal was euthanized and as per Ocean Park officials, the decision was taken since An An was showing over the past few weeks "steady signs of deterioration" and "to alleviate the geriatric panda's discomfort.” His intake of food had reduced gradually and he had stopped eating solid food completely, surviving on water and electrolyte beverages.
The caretakers of An An, also observed a decrease in his activity levels while his periods of rest were increasing.
Talking about the giant panda, Paolo Pong, Chairman of Ocean Park Corporation remarked: "An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed.”
An An was born in the wild in Sichuan and his female mate Jia Jia died in 2016 at the age of 38, thus becoming the oldest female panda in captivity. At present two more pandas, namely Ying Ying and Le Le are there in the Ocean Park.
