World's Oldest Giant Panda Dies

The panda’s owner said 38-year-old “JiaJia” was euthanized on Sunday after its health began to rapidly deteriorate over the past two weeks. “JiaJia” had been gifted to Hong Kong in 1999 along with another panda. According to the world wildlife fund, pandas are endangered because most of their natural habitat has been destroyed for timber, farming and construction. A Chinese government survey in 2014 estimated that nearly 1,900 pandas live in the wild, up 17 percent from 2003. The owner of the deceased panda still houses the world’s second oldest male panda, a 30-year-old animal.