Hai Ning

Hai Ning (Chinese: 海宁) is a male giant panda born on August 30, 2020, at Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden, listed under studbook number 1350 in the global captive giant panda breeding registry. His birth was the result of a planned breeding effort coordinated by the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center, with his parents Gong Gong and Yuan Yuan both long-term captive residents of the Hainan facility. As of 2024, he remains in good health and continues to reside at his birth institution, with no planned transfer requests submitted to the national giant panda management program to date.

His early development followed standard growth benchmarks for captive giant panda cubs, with veterinary staff monitoring his weight gain, motor skill development, and transition from maternal milk to solid bamboo through his first 18 months of life. He now displays fully species-typical foraging patterns, consuming between 15 and 20 kilograms of fresh bamboo daily, along with regular supplemental nutrient feeds provided as part of the facility's standardized panda care protocol.

Hai Ning is an active participant in the Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park and Botanical Garden's public tropical biodiversity conservation education programs, where regular public viewing sessions and keeper-led talks use his accessible presence to teach visitors about giant panda ecology, habitat protection priorities, and the role of captive breeding programs in endangered species recovery. His status as one of the few giant pandas permanently housed in China's tropical southern region also makes him a key subject for ongoing research into the species' adaptability to warm, high-humidity climates, with behavioral and physiological data collected during his regular health checks contributing to broader conservation planning for potential future assisted colonization or habitat corridor expansion projects. He is a consistent draw for both domestic and international travelers to Hainan, serving as a recognizable cultural ambassador for the province's wildlife conservation efforts.