The world's oldest panda, Xin Xing, passed away on December 21st after living a long life of 38 years. Dubbed the "Hero Mother", the female panda left us with 153 descendants and had given birth to 36 cubs. Born in 1982 in the whild Xin Xings was 114 years old and lived most of her long life in captivity in Chongqing Zoo in the Sichuan Province of China.
The 'new star' celebrated her birthday on August 16th where she enjoyed a delicious cake made of chunks of ice and her favorite fruit. Since October, the female panda started experiencing complications such as bad appetite, oversleeping, difficulty breathing and coughing. All medical efforts failed and she died of organ failure on December 8 and the news was reported two weeks later by the zoo on social media. Rest in peace Xin Xing!
