Pyry

Pyry, a male giant panda with the Chinese name 皮里 and global studbook number 1074, was born on July 10, 2014, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. His parents are Ying Ying and Qing He, both captive-bred giant pandas resident at the Chinese research center, who have participated in the institution’s long-running captive breeding program designed to support the long-term viability of the vulnerable species. Pyry spent the first four years of his life at his birth facility, where he received routine health monitoring, socialization with other young pandas, and care aligned with the center’s evidence-based husbandry standards for the species.

As part of a formal international giant panda conservation exchange agreement between Chinese and Finnish conservation authorities, Pyry was transferred to Ähtäri Zoo in Finland in 2018, to join the facility’s cooperative research and public education program. The zoo maintains continuous monitoring of Pyry’s feeding behavior, activity patterns, and overall health, with data collected from these observations shared with the global giant panda conservation network to refine best practices for captive welfare across all host institutions. He is paired with a female giant panda at the zoo as part of the cooperative international breeding program, a core goal of the cross-border exchange partnership.

Pyry has become one of the most popular resident animals at Ähtäri Zoo, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually from across Finland and neighboring European countries. His public presence supports the zoo’s outreach initiatives focused on global biodiversity protection, educating visitors about the threats facing wild giant panda populations in their native mountain habitats in central China, and the role of international collaboration in species recovery efforts. The exchange program he is part of also facilitates knowledge sharing between Chinese conservation experts and European research teams, advancing collective understanding of giant panda nutrition, reproductive health, and adaptive management for both captive and reintroduced populations.