Bai Yun
白云
35 years old
dujiangyan_base
Bai Yun (白云, "White Cloud"), studbook #371, is a female giant panda born September 7, 1991 at Wolong Hetaoping Base. She...
View profile GU
Panda archive
Gu Gu (#496)
古古
deceased male
Born September 25, 1999
Gu Gu (古古, studbook #496), known as "Uncle Gu" and "Beijing Zoo's Security Captain," was a male giant panda who lived at Beijing Zoo for 21 years. He bit four visitors who illegally entered his enclosure — each time, the visitor was at fault. In 2017, US First Lady Melania Trump fed him bamboo during a state visit. He died on January 16, 2025 at 25 years old.
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This page brings together the core facts, timeline, family graph, media, place journey, and related reading for Gu Gu.
Profile snapshot
Quick facts
Birth date
September 25, 1999
Birth place
Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base
Current location
Beijing Zoo
Status
Deceased
Studbook
#496Archive activity
3 updates · 0 media
Narrative
Life story
Start with a concise summary, then continue into the full narrative record for Gu Gu.
Short version
Gu Gu (古古, studbook #496), known as "Uncle Gu" and "Beijing Zoo's Security Captain," was a male giant panda who lived at Beijing Zoo for 21 years. He bit four visitors who illegally entered his enclosure — each time, the visitor was at fault. In 2017, US First Lady Melania Trump fed him bamboo during a state visit. He died on January 16, 2025 at 25 years old.
Basic Profile
Gu Gu (Chinese: 古古, nicknamed Gu Da Ye/古大爷 — “Uncle Gu”), studbook number 496, was a male giant panda born on September 25, 1999 at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas (CCRCGP) Hetaoping Base in Wolong, Sichuan.
His mother was Tang Tang (唐唐, studbook 446) and his father was Pan Pan (盼盼, studbook 308). His siblings include Gong Zhu (公主), Ye Ye (晔晔), Long Hui (龙徽) — the Vienna male, Lin Yang (林阳), Lin Hui (林惠), and Ju Xiao (菊笑).
The Security Captain
Gu Gu earned his nickname “Beijing Zoo Security Captain” (北动保安队长) for his role in four separate incidents in which he bit visitors who entered his enclosure illegally.
| Date | Incident |
|---|---|
| 2006-09-19 | An intoxicated man jumped into the enclosure, Gu Gu bit him |
| 2007-10-22 | A 15-year-old climbed over the fence, Gu Gu bit him |
| 2009-01-07 | A visitor jumped in to retrieve a toy, Gu Gu bit him |
| 2012-05-18 | A man jumped in to take photos, Gu Gu attacked him |
In every case, the injured party was found to be at fault for entering the enclosure. Gu Gu was simply defending his territory. The incidents cemented his reputation as Beijing Zoo’s toughest resident.
The First Lady Visit (2017)
On November 10, 2017, following President Trump’s state visit to China, US First Lady Melania Trump visited Beijing Zoo’s panda pavilion. She was introduced to Gu Gu, who was on his best behavior — he calmly accepted bamboo from her hand and allowed her to touch his paw. Melania later tweeted about the encounter, calling it “wonderful.”
Keepers noted that Gu Gu seemed unusually cooperative, speculating that Melania’s black-and-white outfit might have reminded him of a fellow panda.
Death
In August 2024, Gu Gu began showing signs of ascites (abdominal fluid accumulation), loss of appetite, and lethargy. He was moved to a non-public area on January 9, 2024. On the afternoon of January 15, 2025, his condition deteriorated sharply. Despite emergency care, he died at 2:09 AM on January 16, 2025 at 25 years and 4 months of age due to age-related heart and liver failure.
Evidence
Life timeline
Key updates and milestone events tied to Gu Gu.
2001 (1)
Knowledge graph
Family and network
See the core family graph first, then continue through related pandas and archive themes.
Father Mother Half-siblings (grouped) Children
Gu Gu has
14 half-siblings.
The majority share the same father, Pan Pan
, indicating a highly prolific paternal lineage.
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Why these profiles appear here
1
Bai Yun
Same father (SB 308)
2
Da Di
Same father (SB 308)
3
Fei Fei
Same father (SB 308)
4
Jin Hu
Offspring: Jin Hu
Gallery
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Connected archive
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Place journey
Current location
Beijing Zoo
Beijing, China
Gu Gu is currently linked to Beijing Zoo.
Mentioned in archive reading
nature
The Bamboo Grinder: Panda Dental Health and Worn Teeth
A panda's molars crush bamboo for 12-16 hours daily, accumulating decades of abrasive wear from silica-rich plant fiber. By age 20, the enamel may be gone entirely. This article examines panda dental anatomy, the pathology of tooth wear, the veterinary dentistry that repairs broken teeth, and why dental health is the single greatest determinant of panda lifespan in the wild.
nature
Common Panda Diseases: From Gut Blockages to Parasite Prevention
The giant panda's specialized bamboo diet and carnivore digestive anatomy make it vulnerable to a specific set of diseases: mucus diarrhea from microbiome disruption, intestinal blockages from bamboo fiber impaction, ascariasis from roundworm parasites, and dental infections from worn teeth. This article examines each major panda health threat, its causes, and the veterinary protocols that keep captive pandas healthy.
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Primary source types
- Conservation institution records
- Official panda databases
- Research publications and archive reporting
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