World’s Oldest Male Panda ‘Pan Pan’ With Over 130 Descendants Dies Of Cancer In China

Pandas are one of the most adorable creatures on Earth. The black and white members of the bear community are native to China and are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of threatened species due to their low reproductive rate. Wednesday marked a sad day for panda conservation program as the oldest male panda on earth died of cancer.

Pan Pan, the oldest male panda in the world, succumbed to cancer at Dujiangyan Research Center in China’s Sichuan province at the age of 31 on December 28. About 25% of all pandas in the world are descendants of Pan Pan as he fathered over 130 children and grand-children!

Although Pandas have a very low reproductive rate, Pan Pan, whose name meant ‘hope’ in Chinese was an agile father whose cubs went to have offsprings of their own.

Pan Pan was born in 1985 in the woods of the Chinese province of Sichuan. However, he was taken into captivity just after a few months. According to a keeper at a conservation facility, he lived a life equivalent to 100 human years!

The average lifespan of pandas living in woods is about 20 years but those who are taken in in captivity generally live longer.

The China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas announced his death as a “heart-wrenching news” and called him a ‘hero father’.

“He left us forever after rescue efforts by medical personnel proved futile. We hope that there is no more suffering from illness in heaven.”

Pan Pan may have left us, but his family members are living in zoos all around the Earth from the USA to Thailand. Recent estimates show that there are about 1864 giant pandas left in the wild. Although these numbers are higher than the last decade, there is still a lot to be done to get them out of the ‘vulnerable’ status.

News Source: Seeker