An An, the world’s oldest male giant panda held in captivity, died on Thursday at the age of 35, according to the marine theme park in Hong Kong where the panda lived. The panda, which was euthanized, lived to be 105 in human years.
In a statement, Ocean Park said that An An’s health has been deteriorating for a few weeks and that, along with decreasing activity levels, his eating had declined “slowly but progressively.” By this past Sunday, he had stopped eating altogether. The panda has developed high blood pressure, according to the Associated Press, and was being kept away from visitors as the decline worsened.
“An An lived a full life,” the park said, but on Thursday, veterinarians euthanized the panda after consulting with conservationists.
“An An is an indispensable member of our family and has grown together with the Park,” Paulo Pong, Ocean Park Corporation chairman, said in a statement. “… An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed.”
An An first went to the theme park in 1999. He was gifted to Hong Kong from the Chinese government alongside Jia Jia, who was the world’s oldest giant panda at 38 before she died in 2016. In the wild, giant pandas tend to live between 14 and 20 years, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The giant panda had long been considered endangered until last year, when China announced that more than 1,800 animals were in the wild. The country had been working to create nature reserves to help the species thrive and had designated at least 25% of its land for ecological protection.
