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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Tuan Tuan, one of two giant pandas gifted to the island by China in 2008 as a symbol of unity and friendship, died in an induced coma on Saturday afternoon, Taipei Zoo officials said.
The 18-year-old male panda has become increasingly frail and suffered a series of epileptic seizures last week, zoo officials told a news conference, without giving an immediate cause of death. “At 1:48 p.m., Tuan Tuan’s heart stopped and will suffer no longer,” Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je added in a social media post on Saturday.
Tuan Tuan’s deteriorating health has been a major concern for the zoo’s veterinary team since August. Officials observed that the bear struggled to walk on its hind legs and consumed only half the amount of bamboo it had eaten in the previous months.
Efforts to save the animal inspired a rare moment of cooperation between China and Taiwan this month, when Beijing dispatched two panda experts to visit Tuan Tuan and support the bear’s veterinary and care team. In a statement at the time, the Taipei Zoo expressed its gratitude for the cooperation – detailing how Taiwanese officials had communicated with experts at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province for advice on caring for the giant panda to catch up with bear.
According to CNA, Taiwan’s official news agency, zoo officials ended Tuan Tuan’s life after he suffered more seizures this month – believed to be related to a brain tumor. The average life expectancy of a wild panda is 14 to 20 years, but they can live much longer in captivity, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
The tributes Taiwanese officials have bestowed on the giant panda since his death have recognized his symbolic role in promoting Taiwan-China relations, particularly in the final weeks of his life.
“Tuantuan has been at Taipei Zoo for more than 10 years, bringing joy and fond memories to many Taiwanese friends,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement. “More understanding will promote cross-strait exchanges.”
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For at least decades—some date it to the 7th-century Tang Dynasty—Beijing has practiced “panda diplomacy,” giving away the black-and-white bears to other nations, including the United States, the Soviet Union, Hong Kong, and North Korea. At first, Taiwan rejected Beijing’s proposed gift of pandas, fearing the animals could serve as a propaganda tool for the Chinese government. However, after a change of government in 2008, the attitude was reversed, and Taipei accepted Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, who were born two days apart. The bears became instant celebrities, leading to news stories about Pandamania.
Relations between China and the island, which has an independent, democratically elected government, have deteriorated significantly in the 14 years since.
When Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in 2016, Beijing found her advocacy of Taiwan sovereignty and identity provocative. China tightened its approach to the island, cutting off official communications with the Taiwanese government and ending years of cross-strait cooperation that Beijing officials hoped would lead to unification and that Taipei officials believed would spark conflict would fend off.
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Tensions have continued to escalate over the past year. In August, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited the island and met with Tsai, who was the first House Speaker to travel to Taiwan since 1997. The Chinese leadership spoke of a violation of territorial rights and a deliberate provocation. In response, Beijing launched military drills around the island, which Taiwanese officials said were tantamount to a “sea and air blockade.” Chinese military planes now ignore the strait’s centerline, an unofficial boundary that both sides largely respected for decades. The escalation has prompted many Taiwanese to say they fear the Chinese military could launch a full-scale invasion of the island.
Sands reported from London.