Mao Mao (毛毛）- the last missing panda of Wolong was confirmed dead, buried under the fallen walls of the cubicle which she was kept. It was a tragic sight seeing photos of her badly decomposed body. She had been missing since the earthquake on 12 May 2008 in Sichuan. The first sighting of the decomposed body was on 5 June 2008 and after several days of digging, removal of the debris and also disinfecting the area, the badly decomposed remains were dug out only on 10 June 2008. The Wolong staff used an electronic tag detector to confirm that it was indeed Mao Mao.
At the burial ceremony, the supervisor of Wolong paid tribute to Mao Mao:
“毛毛是一位英雄母亲，生前她产下了三胎五仔，虽然毛毛身材娇小，但是母性十足，每次产仔后都细心的带仔、喂奶，是出了名的好妈妈。毛毛在5.12大地震中不幸罹难，我们深感痛惜，我们会永远记住毛毛，会加倍精心的照料她的子女和同伴，让它们更好的成长、生活，相信毛毛可以安心的离去。”
roughly translated as below:
"Mao Mao was a heroic mother who gave birth on three occasions. Although she was of a small built but her motherly love was always 100%. She would cared for her new borns meticulously and also breast feed them. She was truly a good mother.
It was tragic that Mao Mao did not survive this earthquake and all the staff of Wolong felt very deeply the loss and pain. We will always remember Mao Mao and we will make extra efforts to take good care of her babies and the other pandas to ensure that they will have a better life growing up. We believe Mao Mao, knowing this will be able to rest peacefully."
Mao Mao was found around 1999/2000 at the forest area of Mianyang, Beichuan County. She was new born then and abandoned by her mother with bruises all over her little body when she was found. On 24 April 2000, Mao Mao was brought to the Wolong Panda Base where she was taken care of, nurtured and led a happy life at the base.
She was lucky to be found eight years ago in the same area where the 5.12 earthquake recently hit but it was ironic that she instead perished under the fallen walls of the place (that was not as badly hit by the 5.12 earthquake as Mianyang where she was first found) which had given her the opportunity to grow up and lead a better life.
Her name was given by a famous singer named Mao Ah Min back in 1999 who adopted her and contributed RMB30,000 towards her 1st year expenses. However she was unable to continue the donation thereafter.
Mao Mao was only about 9 years old (equivalent to 30 to 40 years of human life span), her demise was indeed premature. She left behind 3 baby pandas, the eldest being 3 years old and the youngest barely a year old.
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Mao Mao:
Female
ID No: 504
1999 to 12 May 2008
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