The photo shows the 5-year-old brown panda at an animal research center in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. [Photo: Xinhua]

An extremely rare brown panda, discovered by Chinese researchers in the Qinling Mountains in China, has turned 5 years old, the Chinese state media Xinhua reported on August 19.

The 5-year-old panda, named Qi Zai, was only the fifth brown panda found in China since 1985.

Qi Zai was initially discovered by researchers in the Qinling Mountains when it was only a 2-month-old cub. Its mother appeared to have left it and vanished in the forests.

The researchers then took it to a nearby animal rescue and breeding research center in the Qinling Mountains.