One of the two giant pandas that China gave Taiwan as a gift, Tuan Tuan, passed away on Saturday following a brief illness, according to the Taipei Zoo.
Although there was no immediate word on the cause of death, earlier reports indicated that the panda was thought to have a malignant brain tumour, which prompted China to send two specialists to Taiwan earlier this month to assist with his treatment.
Taiwanese press reports state that Tuan Tuan did not reply and was put into an induced coma on Saturday following a string of seizures.
In 2008, as ties between China and Taiwan, which had previously broken down due to the civil war in 1949, were improving, Tuan Tuan and his mate, Yuan Yuan, were donated to the zoo. Both were successful in having a pair of cubs in Taiwan in 2004 after being born in China.
While pandas can live for up to 30 years with human care, their average lifespan in the wild is around 15 to 20 years.
Since the couple’s arrival, relations between Beijing and Taipei have deteriorated drastically. China cut off communication in 2016 after President Tsai Ing-wen, who favors independence and was reelected in 2020, was elected.
As a gesture of goodwill, China sends pandas abroad, but it retains ownership of the animals and any offspring they may have. The animals, which are endemic to southwest China and are an unofficial national symbol, breed infrequently and consume bamboo almost exclusively.
500 pandas are thought to be living in zoos or reserves, mostly in Sichuan, where they are protected as a species but continue to face threats from habitat loss. There are an estimated 1,800 pandas living in the wild.
