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Ming Ming, world's oldest giant panda, dies
An August 2009 file photo of giant panda Ming Ming eating bamboo shoots at the Xiangjiang Safari Park in Panyu in Guangzhou, Guangdong province in southern China. The world's oldest panda died at age 34 on May 7, 2011. (You Ran/Color China Photo/AP Images)
BEIJING - Chinese state media say the world's oldest panda has died at the age of 34.
The Global Times reported Ming Ming died from old age and had kidney failure. She had been living at a zoo or preserve in Guangdong province.
The China Panda Protection Center in Sichuan province said in a statement she died May 7, but it was reported only Tuesday in local media. More details on her were not available.
The newspaper said wild pandas live 15 years on average and captive ones 22 years.
Giant pandas are among the world's most endangered species, with about 1,600 in the wild.
More than 300 are in captivity in China, most in a breeding program aimed at boosting the population.
The country also loans pandas to zoos worldwide.
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