Chinese Giant panda An An celebrates his 29th birthday at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong on July 28, 2015. The world's oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity on Thursday, July 21, 2022 passed away after being euthanized in Hong Kong, following a deterioration in his health in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Chinese giant panda An An celebrates his 29th birthday at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong on July 28, 2015. The world's oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity on Thursday, July 21, 2022 passed away after being euthanized in Hong Kong, following a deterioration in his health in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
FILE - Chinese giant panda An An celebrates his 29th birthday at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong on July 28, 2015. The world's oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity on Thursday, July 21, 2022 passed away after being euthanized in Hong Kong, following a deterioration in his health in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File
FILE - Chinese giant panda An An celebrates his 29th birthday at the Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tuesday, July 28, 2015. The world's oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity on Thursday, July 21, 2022 passed away after being euthanized in Hong Kong, following a deterioration in his health in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File
Visitors write notes to mourn the death of Chinese giant panda An An at the Ocean Park of Hong Kong, Thursday, July 21, 2022. The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35 at the Hong Kong theme park after his health deteriorated. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
A bouquet of flowers is placed to mourn the death of Chinese giant panda An An at the Ocean Park of Hong Kong, Thursday, July 21, 2022. The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35 at the Hong Kong theme park after his health deteriorated. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Visitors take a photo as they mourn the death of Chinese giant panda An An at the Ocean Park of Hong Kong, Thursday, July 21, 2022. The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35 at the Hong Kong theme park after his health deteriorated. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
A visitor takes a photo to mourn the death of Chinese Giant panda An An at the Ocean Park of Hong Kong, Thursday, July 21, 2022. The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35 at the Hong Kong theme park after his health deteriorated. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
HONG KONG (AP) — The oldest-ever male giant panda in captivity has died at age 35 at a Hong Kong theme park after his health deteriorated.
An An lived most of his life at Ocean Park after he and a female panda were gifted to Hong Kong by China in 1999. The female panda, Jia Jia, died in 2016 at age 38, making her the oldest-ever panda in captivity.
Ocean Park mourned An An as a family member who grew with the park and built bonds with locals and tourists.
“An An has brought us fond memories with numerous heart-warming moments. His cleverness and playfulness will be dearly missed,” Paulo Pong, chairman of Ocean Park Corporation, said in a statement.
An An had high blood pressure, a common condition among geriatric pandas. Over the past three weeks, An An had been kept out of sight from visitors at the park as his health worsened. He stopped eating solid food and was significantly less active in recent days.
Last week, hundreds left comments on an Ocean Park post about An An’s condition, wishing him a speedy recovery.
He was euthanized to prevent further suffering Thursday morning after veterinarians from Ocean Park and government authorities consulted the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, Ocean Park said.
“An An lived a full life that ended at the respectable age of 35 – the equivalent of 105 years in human age,” the statement read.
Hong Kong was given another panda pair — Ying Ying, a female, and a male, Le Le — in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to China.
China commonly engages in “panda diplomacy” where the mammals exclusively found in China are leased to other countries as a sign of goodwill.
