The oldest giant panda to ever live in captivity has died at the age of 35 after he was put down.
An An, a male panda, lived at the Ocean Park resort in Hong Kong after being gifted by the Chinese government in 1999 alongside a female.
He was euthanised on Thursday (July 21) after showing steady signs of deterioration over the past few weeks, with his appetite declining until he finally stopped eating, according to the theme park.
The panda was famous in Hong Kong for the long life he spent together with the female panda Jia Jia, with the pair picked out for mating but never proving successfully.
She was the oldest panda ever to have lived in captivity at the time of her death, with this record later surpassed by An An.
Adult pandas typically live to around 20 years of age in the wild, and can carry on until 25 in captivity.
A statement from Ocean Park read: "Ocean Park is deeply saddened to announce the loss of An An,"
“An An is an indispensable member of our family and has grown together with the Park.
"He has also built a strong bond of friendship with locals and tourists alike."
The park spokesperson said that their age was roughly the equivalent of 105 in human years.
The gifting of An An and Jia Jia, an example of China's long tradition of 'panda diplomacy', was done to commemorate the handing over of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's republic of China two years earlier.
Ocean Park, which displays animals including walruses, penguins and dolphins, now has two remaining giant pandas named Ying Ying and Le Le.
China gave the female Ying Ying and male Le Le to Hong Kong in 2007.
The park has hoped that the pair will be able to produce children, although this has not happened so far.
