The world's oldest male panda turns the big 3-0

Pan Pan the panda. — (Image credit: Twitter.com/People)

Pan Pan, the world's oldest male panda living in captivity, hit a milestone on Monday when he celebrated his 30th birthday — the equivalent of 100 in human years.

Pan Pan lives at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Sichuan Province, China, and he was given one of his favorite treats to mark the occasion: A cake made of ice, covered with carrots and topped with a panda sculpture. Pan Pan has been dubbed "hero dad" because he has fathered 130 cubs over the past two decades — a quarter of all pandas living in captivity, People reports. Although 30 is nothing to scoff at, Pan Pan is not the oldest panda in the world; that title goes to Jia Jia, a 37-year-old female who lives in Hong Kong.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.