An An (the world's second-oldest male panda in captivity): born free in 1986 Age: 30 Sex: male Weight: 100 kg Age when brought to Hong Kong: 11 Distinguishing features: a square-shaped face
The Hong Kong native has been with the park since 2010, when he returned from the United States with a bachelor's degree in psychology. His first job was looking after An An and Jia Jia, the park's senior pandas, which were sent as conservation ambassadors by the central government to mark the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 1997.
Lifespan
The average lifespan for giant pandas is 14 to 20 years in the wild, and 25 to 30 years in captivity, but Jia Jia was euthanized on Oct 16 at the age of 38 -- the equivalent of 114 human years - after her health deteriorated rapidly. At the time, she was the oldest panda in captivity.
"She had been living with typical geriatric conditions; high blood pressure, arthritis and cataracts in both eyes," Leung said.
Sometimes, Jia Jia refused to take her medication, so Leung spent hours at her side, letting her play with her favorite toys and gently urging her to take her medicine.
In addition to a daily diet of bamboo, vegetables and high-fiber biscuits to complement Jia Jia's medical treatment, the team invented new ways of coaxing her to take medication.
"We mixed it with her favorite drinks -- soy milk and prune juice -- or we fed her pears and apples before the medicine. We called the fruits 'appetizers'," Leung said. "Those were the most memorable moments, ones I will cherish for the rest of my life."
In September, Leung became the main caregiver for Ying Ying and Le Le, who were presented as a gift to mark the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China in 2007. The pandas were born in 2005, so Leung refers to them as "the kids".
