- Ling Ling (panda)
"This article is about the giant panda given to Japan. For the giant panda named Ling-Ling given to the U.S., see Ling-Ling & Hsing-Hsing"
] 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. cite news |title=Tokyo's beloved panda dies at 22 |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iootdjv6j_ro7wAHQOKtc9oB_q9Q |work=
Agence France-Presse |publisher=|date=2008-04-30 |accessdate=2008-05-17] 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. cite news |first=Coco|last=Masters|title=China's Panda Diplomacy |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1736273,00.html |work=Time Magazine |publisher=|date=2008-04-30 |accessdate=2008-05-13]Early years and life at the zoo
Ling Ling was born at the
Beijing Zoo inBeijing, China , in September 1985. cite news |title=Ueno Zoo's only panda dies at 22 |url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/20080501TDY01303.htm |work=Yomiuri Shimbun |publisher=|date=2008-04-30 |accessdate=2008-05-13] 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. cite news |title=Giant panda Ling Ling dies at Ueno Zoo
url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-panda30apr30,0,3796792.story|work=Kyodo News |publisher=Japan Times |date=2008-05-01 |accessdate=2008-05-13] The 1992 panda exchange, between China and Japan, which is often calledPanda diplomacy , took place to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the normalization of bilateralSino-Japanese relations 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 . Ling Ling was even sent out of Japan toMexico 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 ofstrength andappetite . He had been onmedication since September 2007 for his ailments, which included heart and kidney problems. He was removed from public display at the zoo onApril 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 ofheart failure . He was 22 years and seven months old, which is roughlyequivalent 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 male panda in the world at the time of his death. Ling Ling'sportrait and favorite food,bamboo shoots , 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 andLan Lan , were given to the zoo to mark the normalization ofbilateral relations between Japan and China. The Ueno Zoo reportedly fears a drop in its number of visitors due to the loss of Ling Ling. cite news|title=Ueno Zoo fears visitor numbers will fall after panda's death|url=http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080503TDY03003.htm |work=Yomiuri Shimbun |publisher=Daily Yomiuri |date=2008-05-03 |accessdate=2008-05-13] 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 about obtaining a new panda from China.Ling Ling was the only giant panda in Japan which was directly owned by the government 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 inShirahamacho ,Wakayama Prefecture , while two other pandas resident at theKobe Municipal Oji Zoo inKobe, Japan .Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda askedChinese President Hu Jintao for two more pandas following Ling Ling's death.Ling Ling 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, the oldest giant panda in captivity in China, also died at the
Jinan Zoo at the age of 36. cite news|title=Oldest captive panda dies in Shandong |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-04/03/content_6590951.htm |work=China Radio International |publisher=China Daily |date=2008-04-03 |accessdate=2008-04-17]References
External links
* [http://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/ueno/main.html Ueno Zoo]
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