The China Giant Panda Protection Research Center (CGPPRC) responded on its Sina Weibo account that they did not release the death of the two pandas Guo Guo and Hua Sheng because they need to wait for the test result and find out the cause of the death.
The CGPPRC explained on Friday that like other animals, pandas will also experience sickness and death. Their online post was in response to the massive public attention that the pandas garnered.
"We had reported the news of the deaths according to the procedures even if it is not necessary to keep the public informed," said CGPPRC.
The Shanghai Wildlife Park announced on its Weibo account on Thursday that 21-year-old panda Guo Guo died on December 26, 2016 because of acute pancreatitis and multiple organ failure.
The mother panda was quarantined for treatment on December 19 shortly after she showed symptoms of fever, vomiting, diarrhea, stomachache and discharged intestinal mucus, said the announcement.
Chinese netizens expressed their outrage after the announcement and slammed the park for exhibiting the pandas despite their illnesses.
They blamed the park for the pandas' deaths and made accusations that five pandas had died there.
A post that criticized the zoo for announcing the deaths after 20 days has got some 7000 likes and over 10,000 comments.
China's State Forestry Administration has addressed the issue on Sina Weibo, saying that the Shanghai Base of the CGPPRC has tried everything they could to rescue the two pandas and they are planning to set up breeding and search centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for access to more advanced technologies and larger-scale publicity and educational activities.
The CGPPRC has also pointed out pandas adapt quickly to new environments and said there are plans in store to move the panda bases from Sichuan to other cities.
