Oldest Male Panda Dies at Hong Kong

The oldest male panda living in captivity died in an amusement park in Hong Kong on Thursday. The panda, known as An An, was euthanized at 35 years old, similar to an adult human who lives to 105.

The officials at Ocean Park say the decision was taken after he displayed "steady indicators of decline" in the last few weeks. An An, together with Jia Jia, its companion Jia Jia was given in 1999 to Hong Kong from China's central government in the year 1999.

Ocean Park's officials said that the panda's diet was decreasing gradually, and eventually it stopped eating food in the form of solids and was surviving solely on electrolyte and water drinks. The caretakers of the panda also noticed that the levels of activity had decreased and the time it spent resting was becoming longer.

Park officials finally took the decision to kill the bear "to reduce the panda's geriatric suffering," they said in an announcement on Thursday. "An An has given us many memories of fondness and heart-warming memories. His intelligence and fun will be greatly missed," said Paolo Pong the Chairman of Ocean Park Corporation.

Ocean Park has in the time been the subject of criticism protesters particularly protesting against the live dolphin shows that were later ended, although some claim that this wasn't enough. "Ocean Park's decision to stop its dolphin shows , but keep them as a tourist attraction an chance to make a profit, both ethically and financially," Jason Baker, vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals  (PETA) has said at the time.

The park keeps the largest variety of animals including penguins, dolphins and even penguins kept in captive.