One of the oldest pandas in the world has died aged 28, which is 100 in human years.
Tan Tan died on Sunday (31 Mar) in the zoo where she’d been living for 24 years.
She died of age-related heart failure in Oji Zoo in Kobe, Japan.
Born in China in 1995, she was Japan’s oldest panda.
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She was supposed to be sent back to her home country in 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed her return.
It was delayed a second time when she was diagnosed with cardiac disease and had to receive medical treatment.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association said in a statement: “Despite several days of rescue efforts by experts from China and Japan, her condition did not improve, and she passed away at 11:56pm on Sunday.”
Tan Tan, called Shuang Shuang in her native China, was sent to Japan as part of joint conservation research efforts between the two countries.
The association said: “Her arrival brought hope and joy to the Japanese people who had suffered from the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.
“Additionally, she made a positive contribution to giant panda conservation research, technical exchange, public education and friendly relations between the two countries.”
Tan Tan’s remains will be repatriated, the association revealed.
Giant pandas live, on average, for 25 to 30 years in zoos, or 15 to 20 years in the wild.
Their diet consists almost entirely of bamboo, as reported on What’s The Jam.
The species, classed by the IUCN as “vulnerable”, is endemic to China.
There are only 1,864 giant pandas left in the wild, according to the WWF.
With Tan Tan’s death, there are now eight in Japan, all in zoos.
There are about 300 pandas living in captivity, according to the National Geographic Society.
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