Ling Ling, a resident of the Ueno Zoo in Japan has passed on. The giant panda had lived a full 22 years (or about 70 years old in human years), but had recently started to experience health problems as a result of his old age. Eventually it was heart failure that took him to the Big Zoo in the Sky.

Ling Ling was the last living giant panda at the Japanese zoo. He was originally a resident of the Beijing Zoo, but made the big move to Japan in 1992 to breed. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to reproduce during his panda lovin' sessions with the Ueno Zoo's three female panda residents and spent the last three years of his life living in solitude.

There are only about 1,600 living giant pandas left living in nature reserves in China, which has classified the animal as one of the world's most endangered species.

» The Independent