Jia Jia is one very special panda; in fact this beloved panda that lives at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park just earned two different Guinness World Records, one for being the “oldest panda ever in captivity” and another for being the “oldest panda living in captivity.”
Jia Jia just celebrated her 37th birthday, and while that might not seem too old to you, that’s the equivalent of 110 in human years. The park created an extra special cake for the extra special birthday girl, a giant masterpiece made out of ice and vegetables. Jia wasn’t too interested in her cake though, this granny prefers to stick to her favorite food… bamboo!
Jia Jia was born in 1978 and given to Hong Kong in 1999 in celebration of the second anniversary of Britain handing over control of the city to China. Throughout her lifespan Jia Jia has given birth to six cubs, four of which are still alive and well.
Jia Jia just met the mark for world record status this year. The former oldest panda in captivity was Dudu, born in 1962 he lived until 1999 when he was a 36-years-old. In both the wild and captivity the average giant panda lives only 18-20 years, making both Dudu and Jia Jia’s birthdays in their late thirties extremely impressive.
Jia Jia is just like any other granny, she needs her special medications for things like arthritic pain and high blood pressure, but other than that she’s doing extremely well.
She gave her cake a try but she wasn’t feeling it so much…
At her ripe old age she knows exactly what she wants and that’s bamboo!
This is Jia Jia celebrating a previous birthday with a special treat made of ice and fruit. While this birthday treat looks far less fancy it appears to win over Jia Jia better than her grander cake from this year.
Watch this video about Jia Jia’s big birthday milestone:
Photo Credits: guinnessworldrecords.com (h/t: Bored Panda)
