Pan Pan lives at China's Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Chengdu, and during his long life has fathered more than 130 offspring, making him father to one fourth of the world's pandas who have been bred in captivity.
"Pan Pan is a heroic father in the panda world," said Wei Rongping, deputy of the center.
"We believe Pan Pan is the oldest male panda in the world," Wei told guests at the birthday party.
"He is in good health but with saggy skin and loose muscles. We don't ignore aging or ailing giant pandas. We still care for them, love them and try to give them a happy life," assured Wei.
He may be the world's oldest panda, but he still looks pretty cute! Happy birthday Panpan! #China pic.twitter.com/HvLwAgJ9qu
— Teo Cheng Wee (@chengwee) 22 сентября 2015
Earlier this year, Jia Jia, the world's oldest female giant panda, celebrated her 37th birthday at the Ocean Park theme park in Hong Kong.
Before Jia Jai, the record for the oldest giant panda belonged to Du Du, a Chinese panda who was born in 1962, and died at the age of 37 in 1999.
"While still very low, this represents a real success story, with numbers increasing from around 1,000 in the late 1970s," said the World Wildlife Fund, which was invited by the Chinese government to help conserve the giant panda population in the 1970s.
