Revered Chinese Panda Dies From Gas Poisoning
Jul 29th, 2010 | By mervi | Category: Featured articles29.7.2010 – Sourse Aol News
Chinese police have detained a man in connection with the gas poisoning death of Quan Quan, revered as “the heroic mother” zoo panda who had given birth to seven cubs.
The 48-year-old man, identified only by his surname Yang, had hired workers to disinfect a former air raid shelter he had leased to grow mushrooms, the state news agency Xinhua reported today.
The shelter was near the Jinan Zoo’s panda house in eastern Shandong Province, and toxic gas used by the workers leaked through an air pipe used to cool the pandas, fatally poisoning Quan Quan.
Quan Quan was 21 years old, the equivalent of more than 70 in human terms, the agency said. Once she became ill after inhaling carbon monoxide and chlorine she was taken to a hospital, but died Thursday after three hours of emergency treatment.
According to a spokeswoman for the local civil air defense office, which owns the shelter, it was not aware that the air pipe existed because it “was not included in the facility’s design paper.”
The pipe was installed in 1995 to help keep the pandas cool, a zoo spokesman told Xinhua.
Quan Quan is the second panda to die at Jinan in the last two years, according to a Los Angeles Times report from Beijing, which said animal welfare advocates see her death as a result of the lack of laws in China on how animals should be kept in zoos.
Pandas are among the world’s most endangered species and are revered in China as a national symbol.
But according to Kat Loeffler, a veterinary adviser for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, pandas have died in captivity because of malnutrition, stress and poor veterinary treatment, the Times reported.
“These pandas are being bred for a life in captivity,” Loeffler was quoted as saying. “Why are they being bred? Just so they can circulate through zoos and live next to old air raid shelters?”
Many of China’s zoos are poorly managed or have insufficient funding, and animal deaths are common, Agence France Presse said, citing Chinese state media reports. But because pandas are so rare, and revered, the agency said special attention was usually given to their welfare.
The death of Quan Quan, who was born at a breeding center in Sichuan Province, was described as “an extraordinary case and looks like an accident,” according to Chang Jiwen, a scholar with the Institute of Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
But those responsible for drilling the air pipe should be held to account, and the Jinan Zoo management should take responsibility, he told Xinhua.
Dear friends,
I hate to break bad news to you but I can’t close my eyes either.
Another unnecessary death in a zoo – I think we’ve had too many of them this year…..
We can only hope the security controls – both concering the environment and the visitors – will be more thorough in every zoo and animal park.
Rest in peace, dear Quan Quan.
Mervi
Dear Mervi, I have read this sad news too this morning. However, I think that we have to make a decent distinction between the tragedies that happened in the European zoos and the general overall management (and disastrous results thereof) in Chinese zoos. Little Milla died because of a miscalculation of the behavior of Palle-Jooseppi (or how does one write his name correctly), but there was never a bad intent from the zoo management. The reason that caused Jerka’s death and Lars’ illness is not even know and certainly in this case, there is nobody to blame. Same with Jamuna Toni.
But it is commonly know that the treatment in Chinese zoos is just awful for not even mentioning the non-existence of decent laws for the protection of zoo animals. And even though the panda is the Chinese national symbol, their main duty is to bring in the money.
Dear Mervi,
a good journalist must also inform his readers about bad news.
My heart is aching when I learnt what happened to Quan Quan. I am so sorry for this beautiful Panda.
Hugs from caren
I cannot bear this sad story…poor Quan Quan….so tragic…xo k-j
It is very sad story.
Hugs
That is a very sad story. Poor panda.
Bea