Eryatou

Eryatou, known in Chinese as 二丫头, is a female giant panda born on September 19, 1993, at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Assigned studbook number 401 in the global giant panda breeding registry, she is counted among the oldest living captive giant pandas in China. Her lineage traces to two wild-born giant pandas, Baoxiong and Yadi, both of whom were rescued by field conservation teams and transferred to the Chengdu Research Base to receive specialized long-term care. This wild genetic heritage makes Eryatou a particularly valuable contributor to the captive panda breeding program, as her ancestry expands the genetic diversity of the managed population, a core priority for reducing inbreeding risk and supporting the long-term viability of the species.

Eryatou has resided at the Chengdu Research Base for her entire life, and as a long-term resident, she is integrated into multiple core institutional initiatives. She participates in public education programs, where her calm, predictable behavior patterns help visitors from across China and around the world learn about giant panda ecology, dietary needs, and the history of ex situ conservation efforts for the species. She is also a key subject for long-term research projects focused on giant panda aging and captive welfare, as her decades of documented health and behavior data provide researchers with rare insights into the physical and behavioral changes that occur in giant pandas across their life span.

In her daily routine, Eryatou exhibits the classic foraging and resting patterns of her species, devoting most of her daylight hours to feeding on fresh bamboo provided by the base’s animal care team, and resting in shaded, vegetation-rich sections of her enclosure. Her status as a high-profile, long-lived resident has made her a consistent favorite among visitors to the Chengdu base, and her continued presence supports the base’s broader conservation mission of raising public awareness of giant panda protection while building a sustainable captive population that can act as a buffer against the risks facing wild giant panda habitats. As of 2024, she remains in good health under the regular monitoring of the base’s veterinary and animal care staff.