HONG KONG – The world’s oldest panda in captivity was euthanized Sunday at the Hong Kong theme park where she lived because her health had deteriorated.
Jia Jia, 38, was euthanized by a veterinarian at Ocean Park for moral, rather than physical, reasons, the park said.
World’s Oldest Panda in Captivity Passes Away at 38
Guinness International Data diagnosed Jia Jia as the oldest giant pandas living in captivity. The average life expectancy of a pandas in the wild is eighteen to twenty years, while in captivity it is thirty years, according to Guinness.
Born in the wild, Jia Jia was brought to live at the breeding centre of a wildlife reserve in Sichuan province in Greater China in 1980, when she was about two years old.
In 1999, Beijing gave her and another panda, An An, as a gift to Hong Kong when China took over the city from the British.
Pandas, a beloved symbol of China, have long been considered one of the world’s most endangered animals, though last month a leading international group downgraded their classification to “vulnerable.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature highlighted conservation efforts that helped the wild panda population rise from 1,596 in 2004 to 1,864 in 2014. However, Chinese authorities rejected the institution’s decision, saying the panda’s reputation was no less serious because its natural habitats had been affected by human and natural causes.
Jia Jia, who celebrated her birthday in August, had shown signs of ill health in her older age, including high blood pressure and arthritis, which required regular treatment. In recent weeks, her condition had worsened considerably, including her losing weight as she stopped eating.
In his statement, Ocean Park chairman Leo Kung said: “We knew that evening would come sooner or later, but it is still a sad day for everyone at the park, especially the park keepers who looked after her for years.
There are still three other pandas living at Ocean Park: An An, 30, and Ying Ying and Le Le, both 11 years old.