Panda Patriarch Dies at Mexico City Zoo

Pe-Pe, the beloved patriarch of a family of giant pandas at the Chapultepec Zoo, died Wednesday of cancer, zoo officials said. He was 13.

The Chinese government gave Pe-Pe and his mate, Ying-Ying, to Mexico in September, 1975. The pair had seven cubs, of which four survived. They became the largest family of giant pandas outside China and one of the zoo’s most popular attractions.