World's oldest captive panda dies in China

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The world's oldest captive giant panda has died, according to her keepers in Fuzhou, south-east China, BBC reports.

At 37, Basi had outlived all her panda peers, reaching the equivalent of more than a hundred in human years.

Giant pandas are regarded as symbols of China and are highly protected.

"With a heavy heart, we solemnly announce today that giant panda star Basi died at 8:50am at the age of 37," an official from the Straits Giant Panda Research and Exchange Centre in Fuzhou said.