An An, the world’s oldest male giant panda under human care, has lost its appetite and is in low spirits, according to Hong Kong’s Ocean Park.

Aged 35, the equivalent of 105 human years, the beloved animal has been kept out of visitors’ sight over the past fortnight because of health issues.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the park said its “centenarian panda friend” had a poor appetite and could not “say hi to fans”, adding: “Let’s leave our blessing in the comment box below, or leave a ‘heart’ emoji to wish him a speedy recovery.”

The post has since attracted the attention of more than 2,500 online users and over 500 comments, with many people saying “add oil”, a Cantonese expression of support.

The animal, born in Sichuan province in southwestern China, arrived in Hong Kong in 1999 along with a female giant panda named Jia Jia as a gift from Beijing to the city. The latter died in 2016, aged 38.

There are two other giant pandas at the park, female Ying Ying and male Le Le, who were given to Hong Kong by the central government in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese rule. The pair have yet to produce any babies despite years of mating attempts.

HKALPO reacts

Zoo’s play very little part in true conservation. There are of course problems with animals in their natural environment but one must remember that we were the ones that went and railroaded their environment. We have destroyed their natural habitats, taken these animals out of the wild and put them into enclosures that are completely unnatural and inadequate to support positive animal welfare. This in turn, naturally, causes animals to suffer from depression and other situations that cause animals to suffer as a result of being held captive and taken from the wild.

Of course at this stage, visits to zoos remain a very popular past time. But hopefully we can begin to work towards a future where we can not only wind down zoos but accept that there is no valid reason why we continue to keep animals in zoos.