was a male Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

-born, giant panda

Giant Panda

The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...

 who resided at the Ueno Zoo

Ueno Zoo

The is a zoo, managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and located in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is Japan's oldest zoo, opening on March 20, 1882. It is a five-minute walk from the Park Exit of Ueno Station, with convenient access from Tokyo's public-transportation network...

, the largest zoo in Tokyo, Japan. At the time of his death at the age of 22, Ling Ling was the only giant panda at the Ueno Zoo and the oldest panda in Japan. He served as an important symbol of the Ueno Zoo and of friendship between Japan and China. Ling Ling, who was given to Japan in 1992, was the only giant panda in the country who was directly owned by Japan. There are eight other giant pandas in Japan as of April 2008, but they are all on loan to Japan from China. Despite being a male panda, Ling Ling's name meant "darling little girl" in Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

.

Early years and life at the zoo

Ling Ling was born at the Beijing Zoo

Beijing Zoo

The Beijing Zoo is a zoological park in Beijing, China. Located in the Xicheng District, the zoo occupies an area of 89 hectares , including 5.6 hectares of lakes and ponds . It is one of the oldest zoos in China and has one of the largest animal collections in the country...

 in Beijing, China, in September 1985. He was given to Japan and the Ueno Zoo in November 1992 by China in exchange for a panda which had been born in Japan. The 1992 panda exchange, between China and Japan, which is often called Panda diplomacy

Panda diplomacy

Panda Diplomacy is China's use of Giant Pandas as diplomatic gifts to other countries. The practice existed as far back as the Tang Dynasty, when Empress Wu Zetian sent a pair of pandas to the Japanese emperor.-Pandas in Chinese politics:...

, took place to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral Sino-Japanese relations

Sino-Japanese relations

China and Japan are geographically separated only by a relatively narrow stretch of ocean. China has strongly influenced Japan with its writing system, architecture, culture, religion, philosophy, and law...

 in 1972. He remained one of the Ueno Zoo's most popular attractions for over 15 years.

The Ueno Zoo paired Ling Ling with a female panda named Tong Tong. The two pandas became mates, but were unable to breed successfully and produced no offspring. Tong Tong died in 2000, leaving Ling Ling as the only giant panda at the Ueno Zoo. The zoo had tried unsuccessfully to breed Ling Ling with other pandas since 2001 using artificial insemination

Artificial insemination

Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...

. Ling Ling was even sent out of Japan to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 three times in an attempt to mate him with other pandas.

Death

Ling Ling's health began to deteriorate in August 2007 due to old age, with symptoms such as loss of strength and appetite

Appetite

The appetite is the desire to eat food, felt as hunger. Appetite exists in all higher life-forms, and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. It is regulated by a close interplay between the digestive tract, adipose tissue and the brain. Decreased desire to eat is...

. He had been on medication

Medication

A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...

 since September 2007 for his ailments, which included heart and kidney problems. He was removed from public display at the zoo on April 29, 2008, at the beginning of the zoo's Golden Week holiday season. The zoo explained that Ling Ling would be removed from display in order to undergo intensive care treatments.

Despite the treatments, Ling Ling died at the Ueno Zoo at approximately 2 A.M. on April 30, 2008, just one day after he was withdrawn from public exhibition. An autopsy found that he had died of heart failure. He was 22 years and seven months old, which is roughly equivalent to 70 years old for a human. According to the Ueno Zoo, Ling Ling was the oldest panda in Japan, as well as the fifth oldest known captive

Captivity (animal)

Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos...

 male panda in the world at the time of his death. Ling Ling's portrait

Portrait

thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...

 and favorite food, bamboo shoots

Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo Shoots is an American four-piece musical group based out of Brooklyn, New York and suburban New Jersey. They are known for their dueling, two-person rhythm section and their South Asian identity and influence...

, were displayed in his cage following his death. Zoo visitors left bouquets of flowers and signed condolence registers.

Legacy

Ling Ling's death left the Ueno Zoo without a resident giant panda for the first time in 36 years; since October 1972 when two pandas, Kang Kang and Lan Lan, were given to the zoo to mark the normalization of bilateral relations between Japan and China. The Ueno Zoo reportedly fears a drop in its number of visitors due to the loss of Ling Ling. Approximately 3.5 million people visit the Ueno Zoo each year, including about 40,000 people per day on holidays and weekends. However, many visitors came specifically to see Ling Ling and other panda related attractions. Without Ling Ling, or another giant panda to replace him, the zoo fears that it may be unable to maintain current visitor numbers without the pandas. The Ueno Zoo is reportedly consulting the Japanese Foreign Ministry

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...

 about obtaining a new panda from China.

Ling Ling was the only giant panda in Japan which was directly owned by the government

Government of Japan

The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...

 or a Japanese institution. There are still eight other pandas located throughout Japan. However, each of these remaining eight pandas are currently on loan from China and are not Japanese owned. Six of the Chinese pandas are currently housed at Adventure World, which is located in Shirahamacho, Wakayama Prefecture

Wakayama Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Wakayama.- History :Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.- 1953 Wakayama Prefecture flood disaster :...

, while two other pandas resident at the Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo in Kobe, Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda

Yasuo Fukuda

was the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....

 asked Chinese President Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao

Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...

 for two more pandas following Ling Ling's death.

Ling Ling's death in April 2008 marked the second high profile death of an "elderly" captive panda in less than one month. On April 2, 2008, Taotao

Taotao (giant panda)

Taotao was a Chinese giant panda. Taotao was China's oldest living giant panda at the time of her death at the age of 36.Taotao was born in the wild in Gansu province, and in October 1994 was brought to the zoo in Jinan in the Shandong province...

, the oldest giant panda in captivity in China, also died at the Jinan Zoo

Jinan Zoo

Jinan Zoo , formerly known as Taurus Park was founded inOctober 1959. It opened May 1, 1960，it was renamed Jinan Zoo onSeptember 8, 1989. Jinan Zoo is one of China's largest zoos in it is located in Shandong province.-History:...

at the age of 36.

External links

• Ueno Zoo