An An lived most of his life in a theme park in Hong Kong after he and a female panda were donated from China in 1999. The female panda, Jia Jia, died in 2016 at the age of 38, making her the oldest female panda in captivity. The Ocean Park theme park mourned An An as a family member who forged bonds with locals and tourists. “An An brought us fond memories with many heart-warming moments. His wit and playfulness will be sorely missed,” said Paulo Pong, president of Ocean Park Corporation. One An had high blood pressure, a common condition among geriatric pandas. For the past three weeks, An An has been kept away from visitors at the park as his health deteriorated. He has stopped eating solid food and has been significantly less active in recent days. Last week, hundreds left comments on a social media post about An An’s condition, wishing him a speedy recovery. It was euthanized to prevent further suffering on Thursday morning after veterinarians from Ocean Park and government authorities consulted the China Conservation and Research Center for the giant panda. “An Anne lived a full life that ended at the respectable age of 35 – the equivalent of 105 years in human life,” Ocean Park said. Hong Kong received another pair of pandas – female Ying Ying and male Le Le – in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to China. China routinely engages in “panda diplomacy,” where mammals found exclusively in China are leased to other countries as a goodwill gesture.
