Pan Pan (giant panda) explained

Species:Giant panda
Birth Date:1985
Birth Place:Sichuan, China
Gender:Male
Death Place:Chengdu, China
Namedafter:Hope

Pan Pan (1985 – 28 December 2016) was a male giant panda who was resident at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre in Chengdu, China. At the time of his death, he was the oldest male giant panda in captivity.[1] The oldest living giant panda in captivity at the time of Pan Pan's death was Basi, a female giant panda who was then 37.[2]

Pan Pan (meaning "hope" or "expectation") was born in the wild in Baoxing County, Sichuan, China, in 1985, and after being rescued was placed in the Chengdu protection centre. He is thought to have over 130 descendants – more than a quarter of the world's captive-bred panda population. Pan Pan's children include Bai Yun (born 1991), Tian Tian (born 1997), Gu Gu (born 1999) and Lin Hui (born 2001).[3] [4] [5] Pan Pan is the great-grandfather[6] of Toronto-born panda twins Jia Yueyue and Jia Panpan (born 2015).

Pan Pan died aged 31 at the Dujiangyan branch of the centre on 28 December 2016, six months after being diagnosed with cancer.[7] [8]

Notes and References

  1. News: 'Oldest' panda in captivity Jia Jia dies at the age of 38 . BBC World News, Asia . 16 October 2016.
  2. Web site: BASI SETS GUINNESS WORLD RECORD AS OLDEST PANDA. 13 January 2017.
  3. Web site: Farewell to Panda Dong Dong . blogs.sandiegozoo.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110616154230/http://blogs.sandiegozoo.org/2011/06/13/farewell-to-panda-dong-dong . 2011-06-16.
  4. Web site: 'Panda Grandpa' Pan Pan Dies in China. NPR. 30 December 2016. Penman. Maggie.
  5. Web site: Pan Pan | Panda Spotlight | Pandas International.
  6. Web site: The Complicated Legacy of a Panda Who Was Really Good at Sex. 28 November 2017.
  7. News: World's oldest male panda Pan Pan dies aged 31 . BBC World News, Asia . 30 December 2016.
  8. News: World's oldest male giant panda Pan Pan dies aged 31 . Natalie Evans . Mirror Online . 30 December 2016.