Beijing: The world’s oldest male panda, An An, died in an amusement park zoo in Hong Kong on Thursday. The panda was euthanized at the age of 35 – the equivalent of a human living till 105.
The decision was taken after he showed “steady signs of deterioration” over the past few weeks.
Ocean Park’s authorities said the panda’s food intake had declined progressively, until it stopped taking solid food altogether and subsisting only on water and electrolyte beverages.
The panda’s caretakers also observed his activity levels had declined and its rest periods were getting increasingly longer.
Eventually, park officials decided to euthanise the bear “to alleviate the geriatric panda’s discomfort,” they said in a statement on Thursday.
Born in the wild in Sichuan, An An, together with its mate Jia Jia, was gifted to Hong Kong from China’s central government in 1999.
His female mate, Jia Jia, died in 2016 at the age of 38, becoming the oldest female panda in captivity.
