An An’s health had showed steady signs of deterioration over the past few weeks, with his food intake declining, until he finally stopped eating, said Ocean Park, the marine and animal facility where he had lived since 1999.
An An and Jia Jia, the world’s oldest female giant panda, who died in 2016 at 38 years, were gifts from the Chinese government.
“Ocean Park is deeply saddened to announce the loss of An An,” it said in a statement.
The park said it was thankful for the opportunity to take care of Jia Jia and An An as it helped Ocean Park become an important base for panda conservation.
“An An is an indispensable member of our family and has grown together with the Park. He has also built a strong bond of friendship with locals and tourists alike.”
The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Because females only ovulate for a short period, of between two to three days a year, the species is notoriously difficult to breed, especially in the wild.
According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, this means that without breeding programs such as this, the wild population would be unable to meet necessary reproduction targets.
The giant pandas’ naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes of mortality.
