Da Ni

Basic Profile

Da Ni (Chinese: 大妮, nickname Zhi Jian/志坚 — “Determined”), studbook number 965, is a female giant panda born on August 7, 2015 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Her mother is Ni Ni (妮妮) and her twin sister is Xiao Ni (小妮). They were welcomed as the newest members of the base’s “2015 Olympic Babies” — a cohort of cubs born during the year of Beijing’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Salamander Cub

Da Ni’s early months were distinctive. She was slow to learn to walk — when she moved, she dragged her hind legs behind her in a crawling motion that looked nothing like a typical panda cub’s gait. Keepers, watching her determinedly drag herself across the enclosure, began calling her a “娃娃鱼” (giant salamander) — a critically endangered Chinese amphibian that moves with a similar crawling motion.

The nickname was a layered pun:

• “大妮” (Da Ni) sounds nearly identical to “大鲵” (Da Ni), the Chinese word for giant salamander
• Her determined attitude earned her the qualifier “身残志坚” — “physically challenged but strong-willed”

As she grew, Da Ni eventually learned to walk normally. But the nickname stuck, becoming one of the more unusual origin stories in the panda world.

Life Journey

On February 6, 2016, Da Ni received her official name through a global naming contest. On March 26, 2016, she moved to the Dujiangyan Panda Valley, where she lived for five years before returning to the Chengdu Research Base in 2021.