Mei Lun

Mei Lun (Chinese: 美仑, studbook number 807) is a female giant panda born on July 15, 2010 at Zoo Atlanta in the United States. Her lineage traces to Yang Yang, her father, and Lun Lun, her mother, two pandas on long-term loan to Zoo Atlanta from China’s giant panda conservation program at the time of her birth. Though early reporting listed an incorrect parentage pair of Tian Tian and Yang Guang, official studbook records confirm Yang Yang and Lun Lun as her biological parents, consistent with documented breeding activities at Zoo Atlanta in the months preceding her birth.

A correction to the initial birth entry's listed parentage has been made, aligning with official records provided by the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Mei Lun resided at Zoo Atlanta for her first year of life, before being transferred to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on her first birthday, July 15, 2011, as part of the standard international giant panda loan agreement terms that require offspring born overseas to return to China for participation in species conservation programs.

Since her arrival in Chengdu, Mei Lun has been a core participant in the base’s captive giant panda breeding program, contributing to the maintenance of genetic diversity within the global captive panda population, a key priority for the conservation of a species classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. She exhibits characteristic giant panda behavioral patterns, devoting the majority of her daily activity to foraging on fresh bamboo and resting in shaded enclosures adapted to mimic her species’ natural montane forest habitat.

As one of the high-profile giant pandas born overseas and later repatriated to China, Mei Lun has garnered sustained public interest from audiences both in China and the United States. Her public visibility supports conservation education initiatives, helping to raise awareness of the threats facing wild giant panda populations, including habitat fragmentation and climate change. She also contributes to ongoing scientific research on the adaptation of captive-bred giant pandas born in different environmental contexts to new living conditions, generating data that informs improved care protocols and global conservation strategies for the species.