Jia Jia (; 28 July 1978 – 16 October 2016) was a female
giant panda
The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white animal coat, coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. ...
who resided at
Ocean Park Hong Kong
Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known simply as Ocean Park, is an animal theme park in Hong Kong. Covering an area of in Wong Chuk Hang, it is the largest theme park by area in Hong Kong, and is also the city's second oldest theme park, after ...
. At the time of her death, she was the oldest giant panda in captivity.
[
Jia Jia was born in the wilderness of ]Sichuan
Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
province and was rescued in Qingchuan County
Qingchuan County () is a county in the northeast of Sichuan province, China, bordering the provinces of Gansu to the north and Shaanxi to the northeast. It is the westernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Guangyuan. It has ...
around the age of two. She was housed in Wolong National Nature Reserve
Wolong National Nature Reserve (from Chinese ), officially known as Wolong Special Administrative Region, is a national protected area located in Wenchuan County in China.
Established in 1963 with an initial size of about , the reserve was fur ...
before being transferred to Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
in 1999, as a gesture to the territory following the British handover. At the time of her death, she had high blood pressure
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
, arthritis
Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...
, and cataracts
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around ligh ...
.
See also
* An An
*List of giant pandas
This is a partial list of giant pandas, both alive and deceased. The giant panda is a conservation-reliant species, conservation-reliant vulnerable species. Wild population estimates of the bear vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 ...
*List of individual bears
The following is a list of individual bears ( other than individual giant pandas) which garnered national or worldwide attention:
Actors
* Bart the Bear, a male Alaskan Kodiak bear, played the leading role in the 1988 wilderness drama, '' The Be ...
References
Individual giant pandas
1978 animal births
2016 animal deaths
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