An An, a resident of Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, has died. He was known for being the oldest giant male panda in captivity. This Thursday, he was euthanized due to his deteriorating health conditions.
The park announced the death of its “centenarian panda” on its Facebook page.
During the last few days before his death, An An refused to eat solid foods and became more sedentary. He only ingested water and electrolytes, far from the average 30 pounds of bamboo giant pandas normally eat.
Dr. Paolo Martelli, director of veterinary services at Ocean Park, performed the procedure at An An’s park residence, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures.
An An came to Hong Kong in 1999 along with a female panda named Jia Jia. Jia Jia was listed in the Guinness world records as the oldest giant panda in captivity. She died in 2016 at the age of 38.
A giant panda’s average life span is from 14 to 20 years, they rarely make it past 30. There are some exceptions, including Chongqing Zoo’s Xin Xing. Xin Xing was famous for eating up to 70 pounds of food daily, and died at 38 in 2020. According to an Ocean Park conversion one human year is equivalent to around three panda years.
Giant pandas were listed as an endangered species in 1990 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. They were later reclassified as ‘vulnerable” in 2016. Last year there were around 1,800 giant pandas in the wild in China and 500 in captivity worldwide.
The animals are endangered because of habitat destruction including the Yangtze Basin region in China, from infrastructure development, forest loss and climate change.
The Chinese government has made efforts to protect the natural habitats of giant pandas, though these efforts can only protect half of their ecosystems according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The park announced the death of its “centenarian panda” on its Facebook page.
During the last few days before his death, An An refused to eat solid foods and became more sedentary. He only ingested water and electrolytes, far from the average 30 pounds of bamboo giant pandas normally eat.
Dr. Paolo Martelli, director of veterinary services at Ocean Park, performed the procedure at An An’s park residence, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures.
An An came to Hong Kong in 1999 along with a female panda named Jia Jia. Jia Jia was listed in the Guinness world records as the oldest giant panda in captivity. She died in 2016 at the age of 38.
A giant panda’s average life span is from 14 to 20 years, they rarely make it past 30. There are some exceptions, including Chongqing Zoo’s Xin Xing. Xin Xing was famous for eating up to 70 pounds of food daily, and died at 38 in 2020. According to an Ocean Park conversion one human year is equivalent to around three panda years.
Giant pandas were listed as an endangered species in 1990 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. They were later reclassified as ‘vulnerable” in 2016. Last year there were around 1,800 giant pandas in the wild in China and 500 in captivity worldwide.
The animals are endangered because of habitat destruction including the Yangtze Basin region in China, from infrastructure development, forest loss and climate change.
The Chinese government has made efforts to protect the natural habitats of giant pandas, though these efforts can only protect half of their ecosystems according to the World Wildlife Fund.
