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 MEI
Panda archive
Mei Sheng
美生
alive male
Born August 19, 2003
Mei Sheng is a male giant panda born on 2003-08-19 at San Diego Zoo. As the first male cub born in the US through natural mating, he is the son of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, and returned to China in 2007.
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Profile snapshot
Quick facts
Birth date
August 19, 2003
Birth place
San Diego Zoo
Current location
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Status
Alive
Studbook
#563Archive activity
2 updates · 0 media
Narrative
Life story
Start with a concise summary, then continue into the full narrative record for Mei Sheng.
Short version
Mei Sheng is a male giant panda born on 2003-08-19 at San Diego Zoo. As the first male cub born in the US through natural mating, he is the son of Bai Yun and Gao Gao, and returned to China in 2007.
Basic Profile
Mei Sheng (美生) is a male giant panda born on August 19, 2003, at the San Diego Zoo. He is the first male giant panda cub born in the United States through natural mating. His name “Mei Sheng” means “born in America,” reflecting his status as one of the first US-born cubs. His studbook number is 563.
Family
Mei Sheng is the son of Bai Yun (studbook 371) and Gao Gao (studbook 415), making him the first natural-born cub of this renowned breeding pair. He has several siblings: older half-sister Hua Mei (through Bai Yun and Shi Shi), and younger full siblings Su Lin, Zhen Zhen, Yun Zi, and Xiao Liwu. All were born at San Diego Zoo through the zoo’s highly successful giant panda breeding program.
Life Journey
San Diego Zoo (2003–2007)
Mei Sheng spent his early years at the San Diego Zoo under the Sino-US cooperative breeding program. He was the second giant panda cub born at San Diego Zoo after Hua Mei (1999), and the first born through natural mating between Bai Yun and Gao Gao. His birth was a significant milestone, as Gao Gao was the first wild-born male panda to successfully sire cubs in the United States.
Return to China (2007)
On November 7, 2007, at approximately four years old, Mei Sheng was repatriated to China, settling at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP) in Wolong, Sichuan Province. His return marked the second US-born panda to be repatriated to China.
Post-2007 Journey
Following the devastating 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Mei Sheng was relocated to the Ya’an Bifengxia Base for safety. In 2009, he began participating in the center’s breeding program. Over the following years, he was moved multiple times between CCRCGP facilities, including stints at the Dujiangyan Base and Wolong Shenshuping Base.
In 2017, Mei Sheng was sent to Guangzhou Chimelong Safari Park on a loan arrangement. He returned to CCRCGP in 2019, and later that year was loaned to Nanjing Tangshan Ziqinghu Wildlife World, where he stayed until 2023. In August 2023, he returned permanently to Sichuan and retired at the Dujiangyan Base of CCRCGP, where both his parents, Bai Yun and Gao Gao, also lived in their later years.
Legacy
Mei Sheng is one of the foundational figures of the San Diego Zoo’s giant panda conservation legacy. As the first naturally conceived male cub born in the US, his life represents the success of international cooperative breeding programs. He contributed to the genetic diversity of the captive panda population through his participation in the breeding program and remains a beloved figure among panda enthusiasts worldwide.
Evidence
Life timeline
Key updates and milestone events tied to Mei Sheng.
Knowledge graph
Family and network
See the core family graph first, then continue through related pandas and archive themes.
Father Mother Full siblings Half-siblings (grouped)
Full siblings 6 same father & mother
Mei Sheng has
6 full siblings and 3 half-siblings.
The majority share the same mother, Bai Yun .
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View profileWhy these profiles appear here
1
Bai Yun
Mother: Bai Yun (SB 371)
2
Gao Gao
Father: Gao Gao (SB 415)
3
Gong Zhu
Same mother (SB 371)
4
Hua Mei
Same mother (SB 371)
Theme graph
Themes connected to Mei Sheng
This panda is connected to 5 themes in the broader archive graph.
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Connected archive
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Place journey
Current location
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Dujiangyan, China
Mei Sheng is currently linked to China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Mentioned in archive reading
culture
The Ultimate Panda Documentary Guide: 50+ Films Every Panda Lover Needs to Watch
A curated global guide to over 50 panda documentaries spanning seven decades, seven thematic categories, and ten countries — from Pan Wenshi's raw Qinling field recordings in the 1990s to the 2024 Korean theatrical release Goodbye, Grandpa. Every film is verified, reviewed, and linked to the real pandas, keepers, and breeding centers behind the footage.
nature
San Diego's Frozen Zoo: Preserving Panda Genes for the Future
Deep in the laboratories of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, vials of panda genetic material — sperm, eggs, tissue samples, cell lines — are preserved in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. This 'Frozen Zoo' is the world's largest wildlife biobank, and its panda collection represents a genetic insurance policy for the species. This article explores the science, the ethics, and the future potential of panda genetic preservation.
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Sources and references
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Primary source types
- Conservation institution records
- Official panda databases
- Research publications and archive reporting
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