Li Li

Li Li, a female giant panda with the Chinese name 莉莉 and global studbook number 1279, was born on August 10, 2021, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP). Her parents are Baoxiong and Youyou, both adult giant pandas residing at the CCRCGP, and her birth was a documented outcome of the center’s annual captive breeding program, which supports the genetic diversity and demographic stability of the global captive giant panda population. As part of standard species management protocols, her lineage, health records, and movement history are formally tracked in the global giant panda studbook system, a centralized database used by conservation institutions worldwide to guide coordinated breeding and translocation efforts.

On her first birthday, August 10, 2022, Li Li was transferred to the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid, as part of a long-term collaborative conservation partnership between Chinese and European wildlife institutions. Since her arrival, she has been a featured resident of the zoo’s giant panda habitat, where her care and monitoring are jointly overseen by staff from the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid and the CCRCGP. Her temperament has been observed as calm and curious, and she regularly participates in species-appropriate enrichment activities designed to encourage natural foraging and exploratory behaviors, which are documented to support long-term physical and psychological well-being for captive giant pandas.

Li Li’s presence at the Zoo Aquarium de Madrid serves dual public and conservation purposes. Her public exhibit draws consistent visitor traffic, and the zoo integrates educational programming alongside her habitat to share information about giant pandas’ native ecological needs in southwest China, the threats facing wild populations, and global long-term species survival goals. As an informal ambassador for Chinese wildlife conservation, she also highlights the outcomes of cross-institutional cooperation between the CCRCGP and European zoological associations, demonstrating the progress of coordinated global efforts to protect the giant panda species for future generations.