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The Week in Germany: Culture March 30, 2007 Panda Yan Yan Passes Away at Berlin Zoo, as Knut Mania
Continues …
Amid all the joy polar bear cub Knut has brought his fans,
another cute resident of Berlin's Zoo has quietly passed away - the loss
of panda lady Yan Yan has left zoo staff with mixed feelings of grief,
tempered by elation over Knut's superstar status as an adorable ambassador
of a threatened environment and species that could face extinction should
the polar ice caps melt.
As reported by Spiegel Online, Yan Yan, whose name
means "The Cute One", was found on Monday afternoon after alarmed
visitors noticed her lying motionless in her outdoor enclosure where she
liked to roll around in the sand and lazily munch on bamboo shoots. Her
death at 22 was unexpected, given that pandas can live more than 30 years.
The zoo's male panda, Bao Bao, is the world's oldest panda in captivity
at 29.
Although it was initially feared she may have died as a
result of stress from all the "Knut mania" at the zoo last weekend,
the cause of death was determined as acute constipation. It was hoped
that Yan Yan could produce offspring like celebrity panda cub Tai Shan
at the National Zoo in Washington. But, as it can be very tricky to breed
the endangered Chinese bears in captivity, the zoo's efforts failed and
she was eventually left to enjoy her daily diet of bamboo and visits from
a steady stream of panda fans. Baby Knut meanwhile has kept everyone smiling. The 9-kilo
(20-pound) cub caused much fanfare during an initial outdoor public outing
on March 23, attended by German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who
"adopted" him to raise awareness about climate change.
And thousands of visitors descended on Berlin Zoo on March 24, forming lines up to 300 meters (984 feet) long just to catch a glimpse of the fluffy little fellow frolicking in the early spring sunshine. Knut rolled on the grass and bit into a red cloth held in front of him by his keeper, Thomas Dörflein, in the manner of a bullfighter. "I've never seen people as happy as this," said zoo veterinary surgeon Andre Schüle. Knut's debut almost threatened to upstage the informal summit of EU leaders,
who flew into Berlin on March 24 to mark the 50th birthday of the European
Union.
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