Back when An An celebrated his 29th birthday at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong
(Picture: AP)The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died aged 35 in Hong Kong.
An An’s health had slowly deteriorated in recent weeks and his food intake declined until he finally stopped eating, said marine and animal facility Ocean Park.
He had high blood pressure, a common condition among geriatric pandas.
Age 35 for a panda is the equivalent of 105 years for humans, Ocean Park said.
The panda lived most of his life at Ocean Park after he was gifted to Hong Kong by China in 1999.
An An and Jia Jia, the world’s oldest female panda in captivity who died aged 38 in 2016, were gifts from the Chinese government to Hong Kong.
Paulo Pong, chairman of Ocean Park Corporation, said: “An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed.
“An An lived a full life that ended at the respectable age of 35 - the equivalent of 105 years in human age.”
Last week, hundreds of people commented on an Ocean Park post wishing the giant panda a speedy recovery.
He was euthanised to prevent further suffering on Thursday morning.
Veterinarians from Ocean Park and government authorities previously consulted the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda on what to do.
Giant panda pair Ying Ying and Le Le were gifted to Hong Kong in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to China.
China often engages in "panda diplomacy" where the mammals exclusively found in China are given to other countries as a sign of goodwill.
