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 SU
Panda archive
Su Lin (#603)
苏琳
alive female
Born August 2, 2005
Su Lin (苏琳) is a female giant panda born August 2, 2005 at the San Diego Zoo, the third cub of Bai Yun and Gao Gao. Named in honor of the first giant panda ever brought to the United States (the 1936 Su Lin), she was returned to China on her first birthday per the breeding loan agreement. She resides at the China Conservation and Research Center and has contributed to the captive breeding program's genetic diversity.
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This page brings together the core facts, timeline, family graph, media, place journey, and related reading for Su Lin.
Profile snapshot
Quick facts
Birth date
August 2, 2005
Birth place
San Diego Zoo
Current location
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Status
Alive
Studbook
#603Archive activity
2 updates · 0 media
Narrative
Life story
Start with a concise summary, then continue into the full narrative record for Su Lin.
Short version
Su Lin (苏琳) is a female giant panda born August 2, 2005 at the San Diego Zoo, the third cub of Bai Yun and Gao Gao. Named in honor of the first giant panda ever brought to the United States (the 1936 Su Lin), she was returned to China on her first birthday per the breeding loan agreement. She resides at the China Conservation and Research Center and has contributed to the captive breeding program's genetic diversity.
Basic Profile
Su Lin (Chinese name: 苏琳, studbook number 603) is a female giant panda born on August 2, 2005 at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California, USA. She is the third cub of Bai Yun (白云, studbook 371) and Gao Gao (高高, studbook 415), following older siblings Hua Mei (华美, studbook 487) and Mei Sheng (美生, studbook 563).
Name and Significance
Su Lin was named in honor of the first giant panda ever brought to the United States — Su Lin (studbook 001), the cub captured in Sichuan in 1936 by Ruth Harkness. This naming connected the 2005 cub to the historic legacy of giant panda conservation and international cooperation.
Early Life at San Diego
Su Lin spent her first year at the San Diego Zoo under the attentive care of her mother Bai Yun, who was an experienced mother having already raised Hua Mei and Mei Sheng. Zoo staff monitored her developmental milestones closely, from her first bamboo nibbles to her early climbing attempts, sharing regular updates with a global audience of panda enthusiasts.
Return to China
On August 2, 2006, her first birthday, Su Lin was transferred to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan, in accordance with the Sino-US breeding loan agreement that requires all cubs born abroad to return to China. She was among the first cohort of overseas-born pandas to join the center’s ex-situ conservation breeding program.
Life at the Conservation Center
At the China Conservation and Research Center, Su Lin has participated in the captive breeding program, contributing to the genetic diversity of the ex-situ population. She exhibits typical giant panda behaviors, spending the majority of her day foraging on bamboo. Her role in the breeding program supports the long-term conservation goal of maintaining a healthy, genetically diverse captive population.
Evidence
Life timeline
Key updates and milestone events tied to Su Lin.
Knowledge graph
Family and network
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Father Mother Full siblings Half-siblings (grouped) Children
Full siblings 6 same father & mother
Su Lin has
6 full siblings and 3 half-siblings.
The majority share the same mother, Bai Yun .
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Why 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 Su Lin
This panda is connected to 5 themes in the broader archive graph.
Lineage themes
Program and tag themes
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Connected archive
Follow this profile into places, articles, and related pandas
This is the next layer around the profile: place journey, current geography, reading context, and nearby panda records.
Place journey
Current location
China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Dujiangyan, China
Su Lin is currently linked to China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda.
Mentioned in archive reading
culture
Where Pandas Live: The Complete Global Distribution Guide
The giant panda diaspora spans 58 locations across continents — from the misty bamboo forests of Sichuan to climate-controlled enclosures in Singapore, from mountain reserves that shelter free-ranging pandas to urban zoos that host celebrities. This article provides the definitive guide to panda geography: where they live, why they're there, what the distribution reveals about conservation history, and how the map has changed from 1869 to today.
culture
Panda Collectibles Guide: From 1930s Souvenirs to Modern Art Toys
Panda merchandise has evolved from simple souvenirs into a sophisticated collector's market spanning vintage propaganda posters, limited-edition stamps, designer art toys, and luxury fashion collaborations. This article traces the history of panda collectibles through seven eras and explains what makes each category valuable.
culture
The Giant Panda in Chinese Culture: From Ancient Symbol to Modern Icon
Long before the panda became a diplomatic tool or a conservation logo, it inhabited the Chinese imagination as a creature of mystery, virtue, and folklore. This article traces the panda's cultural journey through two millennia of Chinese history — from early textual references in the Shangshu and Shanhaijing, through Tang dynasty tribute records and Ming dynasty bestiaries, to its modern emergence as the visual shorthand for China itself.
culture
Ruth Harkness and Su Lin: The First Panda to Reach the Western World
In 1936, American socialite Ruth Harkness traveled to China, captured a baby panda named Su Lin, and brought it to Brookfield Zoo — igniting the world's first 'panda fever.' This article tells the story of the woman, the cub, and the expedition that changed how the West saw pandas forever.
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Sources and references
Information on this page is compiled from conservation institutions, official panda records, media archives, and the wider PandaCommon research workflow.
Primary source types
- Conservation institution records
- Official panda databases
- Research publications and archive reporting
External links
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