Fu Bao

Fu Bao is a female giant panda with the studbook number 1284, born on July 20, 2020 at Everland Resort’s Panda World in South Korea. She was the first giant panda ever born in the country, a milestone made possible by the long-term loan of her parents from China to the South Korean leisure facility. Her mother, Ai Bao, has the studbook number 920, and her father, Le Bao (also referenced as Shuang Shuang in official lineage records) has the studbook number 867, both of whom resided at Everland Resort in the years leading up to Fu Bao’s birth. Her birth drew immediate widespread public attention across South Korea, with regular updates of her growth shared through local media and Everland’s official channels.

Following her first birthday on July 20, 2021, Fu Bao was transferred to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda based in Sichuan Province, China, the institution that manages the largest global captive population of giant pandas. She now participates in the center’s coordinated ex-situ conservation breeding program, contributing to ongoing efforts to maintain a genetically diverse, sustainable captive population of the vulnerable species. As a panda born outside of China and relocated to her native range as a subadult, she also supports research into how captive-born individuals acclimate to the social and environmental conditions of their ancestral habitat.

Public interest in Fu Bao has persisted across both South Korea and China, cementing her status as a cross-cultural conservation icon. Her widespread visibility has helped raise global awareness of the threats facing wild giant pandas, including habitat fragmentation across the species’ remaining mountain range in southwestern China. Her life trajectory also stands as a tangible example of the success of international collaborative conservation partnerships, demonstrating how cross-border cooperation can support both captive breeding programs and broader public engagement with species protection efforts.