An An, the world’s oldest known male giant panda under human care, was euthanised on Thursday (July 21) at age 35, the equivalent of 105 years for humans, said the Hong Kong theme park where he lived.
An An’s health had showed steady signs of deterioration over the past few weeks, with his food intake declining, until he finally stopped eating, said Ocean Park, the marine and animal facility where he had lived since 1999.
An An and Jia Jia, the world’s oldest female giant panda, who died in 2016 at 38 years, were gifts from the Chinese government.
A condolences booth and flowers was set up outside the enclosure. Visitors also streamed in to look at An An’s former enclosure, where a memorial board and a bouquet of flowers were placed in a play area which the panda frequented.
“Such a cute panda with whom I grew up has passed away, I feel both sad and reluctance,” said a park visitor Jason Lau.
Ocean Park, which displays animals including walruses, penguins and dolphins, now has two giant pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le.
(Reuters)
