Zhen Zhen (Chinese :珍珍) is a female giant panda born on August 3, 2007, to Bai Yun and Gao Gao at the San Diego Zoo. Her name means "Precious". [1] She is Bai Yun's fourth cub, and Gao Gao's third. Zhen Zhen has one half sibling, Hua Mei, and four full siblings, Mei Sheng, Su Lin, Yun Zi, and Xiao Liwu. Like her full siblings, Zhen Zhen was conceived via natural mating.
Zhen Zhen made her public debut on December 22, 2007, and was weaned in early 2009. Zhen Zhen, along with her sister Su Lin, were sent to Bifengxia Panda Base in China on September 24, 2010. [2] [3]
In 2018, Zhen Zhen was released into the wild as part of a research project, with a collar attached to her neck. She walked through a village when finding food, drawing attention from the residents. Zhen Zhen explored for several hours, before being sedated and brought back to the Wolong Shensuping Panda Base. Wu Daifu, the director of the Hetaoping panda training base said in a phone interview with China Central Television that the base allows Zhen Zhen out of her enclosure to possibly mate with wild pandas. [4]
In 2019, Zhen Zhen gave birth to a male, Yun Chuan. In 2024, Yun Chuan was sent to the San Diego Zoo, Zhen Zhen's birthplace. [5]
The giant panda, also known as the panda bear or simply panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. Its body is rotund; adult individuals weigh 100 to 115 kg and are typically 1.2 to 1.9 m long. It is sexually dimorphic, with males being typically 10 to 20% larger than females. A thumb is visible on its forepaw, which helps in holding bamboo in place for feeding. It has large molar teeth and expanded temporal fossa to meet its dietary requirements. It can digest starch and is mostly herbivorous with a diet consisting almost entirely of bamboo and bamboo shoots.
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, located in Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its founder, Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth. The zoo was a pioneer in the concept of open-air, cage-less exhibits that recreate natural animal habitats.
Ruth Elizabeth Harkness was an American fashion designer and socialite who traveled to China in 1936 and brought the first live giant panda to the United States.
Panda diplomacy is the practice of sending giant pandas from China to other countries as a tool of diplomacy and wildlife conservation. From 1941 to 1984, the Chinese government gifted pandas to other countries. Since 1984, they have been leased rather than gifted due to a PRC policy change.
Tai Shan is a giant panda born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on July 9, 2005. He is the first panda cub born at the National Zoo to survive for more than a few days. He is the oldest brother of Bao Bao, Bei Bei and Xiao Qi Ji.
Su Lin was the name given to the giant panda cub captured in 1936 and brought to America by Ruth Harkness.
Hua Mei is a female giant panda. She is the first giant panda cub to survive to adulthood in the United States. She was born to Bai Yun (mother) and Shi Shi (father) at the San Diego Zoo. Millions of people around the world watched Hua Mei grow up via the zoo's Panda Cam.
Su Lin is a female giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo on August 2, 2005. Her name — one of five options in an online poll — means "a little bit of something very cute" in Chinese.
Wolong National Nature Reserve, officially known as Wolong Special Administrative Region, is a national protected area located in Wenchuan County in China.
Tian Tian is a 275-pound male giant panda formerly at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. The panda was born on August 27, 1997, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda at the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, to Yong Ba (mother) and Pan Pan (father). Tian Tian is the half-brother of Bai Yun, formerly at the San Diego Zoo.
Bai Yun was the first female giant panda who was born at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in China. From September 1996 she lived at the San Diego Zoo for more than 20 years, until being returned to China in May 2019. Bai Yun gave birth to her sixth cub in 2012 since arriving at the San Diego Zoo, considered the most surviving pandas born at a breeding facility outside of native China. Bai Yun returned to China with her last-born as the 23-year conservation loan of the pandas came to an end between China and San Diego Zoo Global.
Gao Gao is a male giant panda formerly at the San Diego Zoo from 2003 to 2018 and was then returned to China. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur in 2013. His right testicle was removed for health in 2014. To date, he has fathered five giant pandas in captivity.
Mei Sheng is a male giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo. He is the second panda to be born at the zoo and is the first offspring of Bai Yun and Gao Gao. He is the half-brother of Hua Mei and the brother of Su Lin, Zhen Zhen, Yun Zi, and Xiao Liwu.
Shi Shi, or "Rock", was a male giant panda who briefly stayed at the San Diego Zoo. He was the father of Hua Mei.
The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a government-funded non-profit breeding and research institute for giant pandas, red pandas, and other rare animals, located in Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Yun Zi is a male giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo on August 5, 2009. His name is "Son of Cloud (Yun)" in Chinese.
Bifengxia Giant Panda Base is a giant panda research and breeding facility in Bifengxia Town, Ya'an, Sichuan, China. Since opening in 2004, it has become home to several more giant pandas. This includes the U.S.-born Hua Mei and Mei Sheng, who were relocated there after the May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake severely damaged the panda breeding center at the Wolong National Nature Reserve. Both facilities are managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Xiao Liwu is a male giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo on July 29, 2012.
As of 2019, there are 26 zoos in 21 countries and area(s) outside of mainland China, that have giant pandas. These zoos have contracts with China to house these pandas for a few years. The two exceptions are the three pandas held at Taipei Zoo, which are given from the Chinese Mainland, and one panda held in Mexico. Giant pandas are on the IUCN Red List so part of the reason these contracts exist between China and international zoos is to try to help the species reproduce before they are brought back to their native land. For this reason, pandas are treated very well.