World's eldest panda in captivity receives euthanasia

The world's eldest giant panda in captivity, Jia Jia, was given euthanasia on Sunday at the Hong Kong Ocean Park, after her health deteriorated rapidly in the last two weeks.

Aged 38, the female panda had lost sharply her food consumption from more than 10 kg to less than three kg per day, Xinhua news reported.

Jia Jia had spent less time awake and shown no interest in food or fluids for the past few days. The panda's condition worsened on Sunday morning when she was unable to walk and spent the day lying down.

To prevent further suffering, veterinarians agreed to put her to sleep.

Jia Jia was born in China's Sichuan Province in 1978 and was presented together with a male panda by China's central government to Hong Kong as a gift in 1999.

--IANS

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