Da Bai

Da Bai, male giant panda with studbook number 1083, was born on July 15, 2017 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. He is formally recorded in the global giant panda studbook maintained by international panda conservation coordination bodies, with fully documented parentage: his father is Mei Lan (studbook number 649, also known as Bai Xiong) and his mother is Xi Mei (studbook number 450). Both parents are long-term resident captive pandas at the Chengdu Research Base, with their own pedigrees registered as part of the national captive giant panda breeding program, ensuring Da Bai’s lineage is fully traceable for conservation management purposes.

As of 2024, Da Bai remains resident at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, where he participates in the coordinated captive breeding program overseen by the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center. The program’s core priority is preserving and expanding the genetic diversity of the global captive giant panda population, to reduce inbreeding risk and support the long-term viability of the species. Now a mature adult, Da Bai displays characteristic species behaviors, including spending up to 12 hours per day foraging on fresh bamboo supplied by the base’s husbandry team, alongside routine enrichment activities designed to support his physical and behavioral health.

Da Bai is a well-recognized individual among visitors to the Chengdu Research Base, drawing interest from both domestic and international tourists each year. His public profile serves as a tangible representation of the progress made in global giant panda conservation efforts, which led to the species being reclassified from Endangered to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016. As a genetically valuable individual in the captive population, he also contributes to ongoing research into panda nutrition, reproductive biology, and behavioral ecology, findings that support both captive management practices and wild panda conservation initiatives across their native range in southwest China.