Ching-Ching, Panda Given to British Zoo by Mao in ‘74, Dies

LONDON â€”  Ching-Ching, the female giant panda given to Britain by China’s late Chairman Mao Tse-tung in 1974, has died of peritonitis, the London Zoo announced today. She was 12 or 13 years old.

Ching-Ching had been in the zoo hospital in Regents Park for several weeks under treatment for digestive problems that had troubled her for five years, the zoo said. An operation two weeks ago had cleared an intestinal blockage and had been thought successful, it said.

The zoo had been disappointed that Ching-Ching, who made headlines in 1981 with what turned out to be a false pregnancy, had not managed to breed with Chia-Chia, her mate. Chia-Chia, also about 12 years old, was able to father a panda cub at the Madrid Zoo.