Remembering Jia Jia, the world's oldest panda living in captivity
We'll miss you, Jia Jia.
The world's oldest panda living in captivity died at Ocean Park in Hong Kong, park officials announced Sunday morning.
She lived to the ripe old age of 38 -- which is about 100 in panda years. Normally, pandas only live for around 30 years in captivity, and between 18 to 20 years in the wild.
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Her fans mourned her loss on social media.
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She was euthanized to avoid further suffering, park officials said.
Last summer, Ocean Park put on quite the celebration for Jia Jia's 37th birthday as she tied the Guinness World Record for oldest panda living in captivity. Back then, she was in pretty good health for her age, despite some hearing and vision problems, plus high blood pressure and arthritis, according to Reuters.
Jia Jia, born in 1978 in mainland China, was given to Hong Kong as a gift in 1999 to mark the anniversary of the city's independence from Britain.
She may be gone now, but we'll always have these adorable photos from her birthday party to remember her by.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Keith Wagstaff is an assistant editor at Mashable and a terrible Settlers of Catan player. He has written for TIME, The Wall Street Journal Magazine, NBC News, The Village Voice, VICE, GQ and New York Magazine, among many other reputable and not-so-reputable publications. After nearly a decade in New York City, he now lives in his native Los Angeles.
