World’s oldest male giant panda in captivity dies at age 35 in Hong Kong zoo

The world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity died in a Hong Kong amusement park zoo on Thursday.

The panda, called An An, who was born in the wild in the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan in 1986, was euthanised at the age of 35 - the equivalent of a human living until 105 years old.

Officials at Ocean Park, the zoo where An An had lived since 1999, said that the decision was made after he showed "steady signs of deterioration" over recent weeks.

An An had high blood pressure, a common condition among geriatric pandas, and had been kept out of sight from visitors at the park as his health declined.

He stopped eating solid food and was significantly less active in recent days.

Last week, hundreds of people left comments on an Ocean Park post about An An’s condition, wishing him a speedy recovery.

Ocean Park theme park mourned An An as an animal who built connections 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.

An An 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 the age of 38, which made her the oldest-ever panda in captivity.

Jia Jia was also euthanised, having shown signs of poor health in her old age, including high blood pressure and arthritis.

Two more pandas – Ying Ying and Le Le – remain at Ocean Park, the same Hong Kong zoo.

It is thought that the average life expectancy of the species is between 14 and 20 years in the wild, but they can live longer in captivity.

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