SEOUL: The last polar bear kept in South Korea has died of old age only weeks before his planned departure to better living conditions in Britain, zoo officials said Thursday.
Tongki — a 23-year-old male named after a Japanese cartoon character of the 1980s — lived in a 330-square-meter (3,500-square-foot) concrete enclosure at the Everland theme park outside Seoul.
The zoo had planned to move him to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park next month to allow him to enjoy his final days in more appropriate surroundings — the facility in northern England has a 40,000 square meter polar reserve — and had thrown him a farewell party in June.
But Tongki was found dead on Wednesday night and autopsy results suggested that he appeared to have died of old age, the zoo said in a statement, adding it plans to conduct more tests to determine the exact reason for his death.
The average life span of polar bears is around 25 years and Tongki was the equivalent of around 80 in human terms.
“We have designated this week as a period of mourning for Tongki and decorated his living space so visitors can say farewell,” a zoo official told AFP.
Born in captivity at a zoo in the southern city of Masan, Tongki was the only polar bear still living in South Korea and had been alone at Everland since the last fellow resident of his species died three years ago.
Everland said Tongki will not be replaced, and other South Korean zoos have no plans to import the animals, which are classed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of endangered species.
S. Korea’s last polar bear dies ahead of British retirement
S. Korea’s last polar bear dies ahead of British retirement
- Tongki — a 23-year-old male named after a Japanese cartoon character of the 1980s — lived in a 330-square-meter (3,500-square-foot) concrete enclosure at the Everland theme park outside Seoul
- The autopsy results suggested that Tongki appeared to have died of old age
Japan’s beloved last pandas leave for China as ties fray
TOKYO: Two popular pandas are set to leave Tokyo for China Tuesday, leaving Japan without any of the beloved bears for the first time in 50 years as ties between the Asian neighbors fray.
Panda twins Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao are due to be transported by truck out of Ueno Zoological Gardens, their birthplace, disappointing many Japanese fans who have grown attached to the furry four-year-olds.
“Although I can’t see them, I came to share the same air with them and to say, ‘Hope you’ll be OK,’” one woman visiting the zoo told public broadcaster NHK.
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month during a diplomatic spat that began when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted that Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The distinctive black-and-white animals, loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy,” have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since they normalized diplomatic ties in 1972.
Their repatriation comes a month before their loan period expires in February, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which operates Ueno Zoo.
Japan has reportedly been seeking the loan of a new pair of pandas.
However, a weekend poll by the liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper showed that 70 percent of those surveyed do not think the government should negotiate with China on the lease of new pandas, while 26 percent would like them to.
On Sunday, Ueno Zoo invited some 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery to see the pandas for the last time.
Passionate fans without tickets still turned out at the park, sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to demonstrate their love of the animals.
China has discouraged its nationals from traveling to Japan, citing deteriorating public security and criminal acts against Chinese nationals in the country.
Beijing is reportedly also choking off exports to Japan of rare-earth products crucial for making everything from electric cars to missiles.
However, China routinely removes pandas from foreign countries and the latest move may not be politically motivated, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and an expert in East Asian international relations.
“If you talk about (Chinese) politics, the timing of sending pandas is what counts,” and pandas could return to Japan if bilateral ties warm, he said.
Other countries use animals as tools of diplomacy, including Thailand with its elephants and Australia with its koalas, he added.
“But pandas are special,” he said. “They have strong customer-drawing power, and... they can earn money.”
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