HK panda closes in on age record

The oldest giant panda in captivity is set to challenge the world record for the animals' longevity, with her age said to put her on par with a 100-year-old human.

Hong Kong's panda Jia Jia, whose name means "good", is about to turn 37 at the Ocean Park theme park, matching the Guinness World Records title for the oldest panda survivor in captivity - Du Du, who died in 1999, aged 37.

"It is rare for pandas to live to this age," said Grant Abel, the park's director of animal care. "It's probably equivalent to a person living to be over a 100 years old."