Giant Panda Dies Despite Intense Care

His handlers gave it their all--blood transfusions, emergency oxygen and a new mate--but one of China’s most popular giant pandas has died, the official New China News Agency reported. Zhai Zhai, whose age of 28 was equivalent to more than 70 human years, fell ill last week at the zoo in the northeast port of Tianji. Zookeepers thought Zhai Zhai had become lonely after his mate died in 1992, so last month they introduced him to a 16-year-old female panda. “Zhai Zhai was very friendly toward her when she first arrived until he became ill,” the news agency said. “Now his keepers think that her presence might have accelerated his illness.”