Jia Pan Pan

Jia Pan Pan (studbook number 986) is a male giant panda born on October 13, 2015 at the Toronto Zoo, as part of a long-term international giant panda conservation cooperation agreement between Chinese and Canadian wildlife institutions. His father is Da Mao, and his mother is the female giant panda Mao Mao, whose studbook number is 668. Per official studbook records, his maternal lineage traces to Er Da (studbook 719), placing him within a well-documented genetic line widely used to support genetic diversity in ex situ giant panda populations. Exactly one year after his birth, on October 13, 2016, Jia Pan Pan was transferred to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China, where he has resided permanently since.

At the Chengdu Research Base, Jia Pan Pan is an active participant in the base’s coordinated ex situ conservation breeding program for giant pandas, a species classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. He exhibits the species’ characteristic specialized herbivorous feeding behavior, with his diet consisting primarily of bamboo species native to the mountainous regions of southwestern China, the native range of wild giant panda populations. Care staff monitor his feeding patterns, activity cycles, and social interactions as part of ongoing research into giant panda physiology and behavioral ecology, generating data that informs both captive care protocols and wild population monitoring strategies.

As a high-profile individual born through cross-border conservation collaboration, Jia Pan Pan serves as a prominent animal ambassador for global giant panda conservation efforts. His public profile draws widespread attention to targeted habitat protection initiatives for wild giant panda populations in the Qinling and Minshan Mountains, the two core remaining wild giant panda strongholds. Data collected from his time in both Canadian and Chinese captive facilities also contributes to a growing global body of knowledge on giant panda reproduction, juvenile development, and adaptive capacity across different environmental contexts, supporting more coordinated, evidence-based conservation action for the species worldwide.