This is Jia Jia, the world’s oldest living panda in captivity. Not only is she oldest panda still alive today, but she’s also the oldest panda in history.
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Jia Jia was recently recognized by the Guiness Book Of World Records as the oldest panda on her 37th birthday.
Jia Jia was born in 1978. In 1999, she was sent to live in Hong Kong, China, to commemorate the second anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China after over 150 years of British rule.
At her birthday celebration, Jia Jia was presented with a cake made of ice and fruit.
As you can see, she preferred her daily diet of bamboo.
Here’s Jia Jia at a previous birthday party.
Her mate, 29-year-old An An, also celebrated his birthday.
Jia Jia has had six cubs in her life, four of which are still alive.
Jia Jia poses with one of her caretakers in the indoor section of her enclosure. Some of the workers have been with Jia Jia for 15 years.
A panda’s life expectancy is usually about 20 years. Only eight of the over 400 pandas in captivity are over 30 years old. “It’s quite exceptional to reach such an old age for a panda,” says the zoo’s veterinarian.
Happy birthday, Jia Jia!
See a video of Jia Jia at the Ocean Park Zoo in Hong Kong below:
[youtube id=”W8tBf9hxksU”]