A female panda is seen in the Huanglong Nature Reserve in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 3, 2019.File photo:Xinhua

A wild panda that was at least 10 years old has died in Baoxing, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, with the cause of death still unclear.

"The panda was discovered in February this year, and was found in a bush without moving for hours," a staff member surnamed Zheng who was involved in the rescue mission told the Global Times on Monday, "Even though there were no wounds found, it was clear that the panda was in a really poor condition."

The panda died on the afternoon of February 21 after being sent to an emergency room, Zheng told the Global Times.

The cause of death is still unclear since they "haven't had the test report yet," Zheng revealed, adding that "for a panda, which has a life expectancy of 20 years, this one was middle-aged."

It is not the first case of a rescue mission being launched for a wild panda.

"We encounter injured wild pandas once or twice a year," said Zheng, "We find them several times a month while patrolling in the wild, and most are in good and healthy condition. We send the injured ones to the rescue centre."

In December 2020, an injured wild panda was found by patrol staff in Qinling Mountains, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and was sent to a wildlife rescue centre in Shaanxi Province for treatment.

In April 2019, another injured male wild giant panda aged around 7 to 8 was found by a local villager in Sichuan Province, and was later captured and transferred to the rescue center for treatment. The panda was released back into the wild two months later in June.

Baoxing county, located in Southwest China's Sichuan Province and known as the "hometown" of pandas, is the place where the first ever panda was spotted in the world. A total of 75 percent of the area in the county has been designated as a core preservation zone for pandas, according to the Baoxing government in 2018.