Su Lin

Basic Profile

Su Lin (Chinese: 苏琳), studbook number 596, is a female giant panda born on August 2, 2005 at the San Diego Zoo, weighing 112 grams. She is the second cub of Bai Yun (白云) and Gao Gao (高高).

Her name was chosen by over 70,000 U.S. voters in an online poll conducted by the San Diego Zoo. The name “Su Lin” honors the first giant panda ever brought to the United States — a cub captured in 1936 by Ruth Harkness, who was also named Su Lin (sometimes written Su-Lin).

Siblings

Through Bai Yun and Gao Gao: Hua Mei (华美), Mei Sheng (美生), Zhen Zhen (珍珍, studbook 694), Yun Zi (云子), Xiao Liwu (小礼物).

Record-Breaking Return (2010)

On September 26, 2010, Su Lin returned to China alongside her sister Zhen Zhen. At 5 years and 55 days old, she set the record for the oldest overseas-born panda to return to China — surpassing Tai Shan’s previous record of 4 years.

The Wild Birth Experiment (2011)

In 2011, Su Lin was selected for the wild training program. On March 16, she was mated with male Wu Gang (武岗) and sent to the Hetaoping Wild Training Base. On July 7, she gave birth in a stone cave within the training enclosure — the first time a captive-born panda had ever given birth in an outdoor, semi-wild setting. One twin was stillborn (40g); the surviving cub was named Yun Hui (云汇).

However, keepers noticed a problem: Su Lin spent too much time climbing trees and wandering away from her cub. She was an indifferent mother. In October, she was replaced by Zhang Ka (张卡), who took over the cub’s rearing. Su Lin was permanently removed from the wild training program.

Offspring

Su Lin has given birth to 7 cubs:

Name	Studbook	Birth	Notes
Yun Hui (云汇)	807	2011-07-07	Died 2015
Su Xing (苏星)	926	2014-08-03	Twin
(unnamed)	—	2014-08-03	Twin
Ling Lang (玲琅)	1136	2018-07-12	Female; mother of 2025’s first cub
Su Yang (苏阳)	—	2019-08-31	Twin; also called Su Xiao Bao
(twin)	—	2019-08-31	Twin
Zi Su (紫苏)	—	2023-07-04	Male twin; “coal ball”
Zi Lin (紫林)	—	2023-07-05	Male twin; “coal ball”

The Coal Ball Twins (2023)

Su Lin’s 2023 twins, Zi Su (紫苏) and Zi Lin (紫林), became internet sensations as the “煤球双胞胎” (coal ball twins). During their first snow experience, they rolled in mud and snow until their white fur was completely brown. Keepers could distinguish them by fur curliness (Zi Lin had naturally wavy fur) and shoulder-stripe width.

Winter Breeding Anomaly (2016)

In December 2016, Su Lin went into estrus — in the middle of winter. Giant pandas typically breed in March–May, and December breeding was virtually unheard of. She successfully mated with Yang Yang (阳阳) and was artificially inseminated with semen from Xiang Lin (香林). The event set three firsts for CCRCGP: first winter estrus, first winter mating, and first winter semen collection.

Su Lin did not produce cubs from this breeding.