Jia Jia set to break a world record
Print Edition
THE oldest giant panda living in captivity is set to challenge the world record for the animals’ longevity.
Jia Jia, whose name means “good,” will turn 37 this summer at Ocean Park in Hong Kong, matching the Guinness World Records title for the oldest panda in captivity — Du Du, who died in 1999 aged 37.
“It is rare for pandas to live to this age,” said Grant Abel, the park’s animal care director. “It’s probably equivalent to a human who would be over 100 years old.”
Jia Jia’s carers say they are considering sending an application to Guinness World Records after celebrating her birthday this summer, although the exact date of her birth is not known as she was captured in the wild.
Born in China in 1978, Jia Jia was gifted to Hong Kong in 1999, along with another panda, to mark the second anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China’s sovereignty.
She weighs 80 kilograms and is considered to be in remarkably good health for her age, even though her vision is severely impaired and her hearing has deteriorated, said Paolo Martelli, the park’s chief veterinarian.
Jia Jia takes medicine for high blood pressure and arthritis. She walks slowly and avoids the exhibition area of her enclosure, preferring to stay at the back and feast on bamboo shoots and leaves, fruit and high-fiber bread.
“The first thing I thought when I saw Jia Jia was ‘Oh my God, she’s so old, I’m going to be the one to bury her,” Martelli said. “But actually it’s been 10 years now. She’s had a few ups and downs, but she always managed to bounce back and look surprisingly good for years after that,” he said.
Pandas are endangered because most of their natural habitat has been destroyed for timber, farming and construction, according to conservation group the World Wildlife Fund.
A Chinese government survey in 2014 estimated that there are 1,864 pandas living in the wild, up 17 percent from 2003.
They also have an exceptionally short breeding season, with females fertile for just 24 to 36 hours a year, according to Pandas International.
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