World’s Longest-Living Panda in Captivity Dies at 35 in Hong Kong

An An, the world’s longest-living male giant panda in captivity, had been feeling unwell, and his condition deteriorated over the past few weeks. On the morning of July 21, 2022, Ocean Park sadly announced that An An was euthanized to prevent him from suffering more pain.

An An was 35 years old, equivalent to 105 years old in human life.

Before his passing, An An suffered from loss of appetite and movement.

Ocean Park had been posting on its official social media pages to announce the slow deterioration of An An’s health in recent weeks. He was not eating or moving much. His body became more weakened by the day. The theme park realized from a humanitarian perspective that An An might have come to the end of his journey.

After a thorough consultation and careful consideration, the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center, along with the veterinarians at Ocean Park and The Agriculture and Conservation Department of Hong Kong, decided to euthanize the giant panda at 8:40 a.m., ending An An’s suffering at the Sichuan Treasures Museum of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

The Park has placed a guest book for condolences in the Sichuan Treasures Museum for the public to mourn the beloved animal ambassador who had been with Hongkongers for the past 23 years.

An An’s Adventure to Ocean Park

An An was initially born in the wild in Sichuan, China and later moved to the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center.

Before he came to Hong Kong, An An was honored with the title of Panda Ambassador at Man Lee Zoo in Singapore. He was a guest for six months at the zoo. Since he arrived in Hong Kong, he had been living in the Sichuan Treasures Museum. He came to Hong Kong together with Jia Jia on March 11, 1999, they were gifts from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to Hong Kong on its second anniversary of the handover.

Former Chief Executive Tung Chi-hwa said during his welcome speech that the CCP had gifted Hong Kong two giant pandas and auspicious wishes. The name ‘An An’ symbolizes stability and prosperity while ‘Jia Jia’ means “all is well.”

Ocean Park described An An an active and intelligent animal. His favorites were Bamboo leaves, bamboo shoots, vegetables, and high-fiber biscuits. Due to his recent health issues, his caretakers would put his medicine in the biscuits or vegetables he loved to eat. An An loved playing with shredded paper and lying down to enjoy his bamboo.

Since An An carried the rare genes of a giant panda, his sperm could also be used for artificial conception. At the age of 18, An An successfully conceived with Jia Jia, Yun Yun. One of the panda babies, is currently residing in Sichuan.

After bringing six additional pandas to the park, An An became aggressive toward Jia Jia and would often attack her. The park saw it as a sign of hostility, so they separated the two giant pandas. From then on, there were no more panda babies.

As he aged, An An suffered from joint pain, cataract, and high blood pressure.

His medication could only alleviate his anxiety and discomfort but not treat the illness.

CCP’s Auspicious Wishes Gone With Hong Kong’s Prosperity

Hongkongers were saddened by the news of An An’s death. Some brought up the auspicious meaning of the words An An. “An An was a symbolic gift Beijing gave to Hong Kong. It represented the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. Now that An An is gone, it seems to align with the current situation: Stability and prosperity no longer exist here under the national security law.”

“Is An An’s death an omen?” Another netizen commented.

To Hongkongers, what was more coincidental was An An died on July 21, a very significant day for Hongkongers. It happens to be the 3rd anniversary of the 721 Yuen Long Attack.

An An’s Death Reminds Citizens of Their Loss of a Safety Net

On July 21, 2019, Hong Kong citizens were attacked by over six hundred triads-for-hire who dressed in white at the Yuen Long MTR Station. Images of people fleeing, crying for help in the station, and getting beaten badly by the triads, caused tremendous trauma to people who witnessed the horror of the event.

That night, The white-clad triads ran inside the station and attacked civilians and families with children. They locked the exit gates before attacking indiscriminately. Men who defended women and children were hurt. A pregnant woman, a journalist, a former Legco councilor, and an elderly person were also victims of the heartless triads.

Many Hongkongers thought that was the day the Hong Kong Police had turned against the people they were supposed to serve. No one could reach the local police, as the police stations were closed, while officers were photographed later talking with the clad-in-white attackers. When people dialed the emergency hotlines, the line was cut by the police on duty.

Hongkongers felt the city lost its safety net on July 21, 2019.

Auspicious Wishes Turned to Hopelessness

With An An’s death, locals seemed to believe that its death also signified the city’s loss of liberty, stability, and abundance.

Jia Jia’s meaning of “greatness” died before An An at the age of 38 in 2016. She was, at the time, the longest living giant panda, also a Guinness-book record holder.

“With greatness, stability, and prosperity being gone, what else is left for Hong Kong?” A hopeless netizen asked.

Over the years, An An became part of the family of Ocean Park and Hongkongers. Unfortunately for Ocean Park, it became an enemy of its own “families.”

Many Hongkongers had sworn to never return to the park after what the park did in 2019, at the height of the Hong Kong Protests.

Ocean Park Turned Against its “Families” for the Regimes

In its 2019 Halloween show, Ocean Park appointed programme director and lead artist Wong Cham-sum to perform on-stage. However, the pro-government theme park claimed Wong had injected elements of the Hong Kong Protests into the show, which the park also alleged had upset many people. The Park also claimed that Wong’s performance incited hate, rebellion, and social unrest and was an “echo” of the Hong Kong Protests.

Originally the Park planned to switch to a different director, but many Hongkongers organized events to express their support and solidarity with Wong. Because of the public’s reaction, Ocean Park decided to stop the Halloween show four days earlier than scheduled.

It shocked Hong Kong society and caused democratic Hongkongers to retaliate and boycott the Park. Ocean Park has suffered several financial crises since 2019 due to the significant drop in visitors.

The Park endured backlash from the public for its support to both CCP and the Hong Kong government and lost local customers due to the protests and later the pandemic. The Park tried to turn to mainlanders for income, which only aggravated the locals further.

Ocean Park used to be “A park for Hongkongers.” But that ended in 2019.

Some citizens said, “Ocean Park and An An have now become Hong Kong history. So will the memories of happy times we had, as the park had betrayed its own family of Hongkongers.”

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