Lifestyle

The Oldest Male Panda, Pan Pan, Passed Away

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Pan Pan, who lived in the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Sichuan, China, died at age 31 from cancer on December 30th. Time says that 31 is roughly the equivalent of 100 years old in human years.

Pan Pan was known for more than just his age. This male panda did his part to take his species off the endangered list this year with what KHOU calls his “baby-making virility.” He even helped conceive the first baby panda to ever be born in captivity, although Pan Pan himself was born in the wild. Wildlife experts attribute 130 pandas to Pan Pan’s family. Time wrote, “Pan Pan’s lineage now makes up a quarter of all the pandas living in captivity around the world.”

Pan Pan was known to be strong yet nimble. For his 30th birthday, he celebrated with a cake made of ice with some carrot decorations, but for the past year, he had battled cancer. Officials say that three days prior to his death, the panda’s health had decreased dramatically.

Coincidentally, the world’s oldest female panda (named Jia Jia) passed away at age 38, about 114 in human years, in October of 2016.