Su Su

Su Su (Chinese name: 苏苏, studbook number 312) is a female giant panda born on January 1, 1986, in the wild Minshan or Qionglai mountain habitat of Sichuan Province, China. The offspring of two unnamed wild giant pandas native to the Min Mountains ecoregion, she has no official extended lineage records on file, a common gap for wild-born giant pandas rescued in the 1980s before widespread genetic tracking of wild populations was implemented. She was rescued as a juvenile in her first year of life, and officially transferred to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding for permanent care on January 1, 1987, shortly after her rescue.

Between 1990 and 2000, Su Su participated in the Chengdu Research Base’s captive giant panda breeding program, giving birth to multiple offspring that expanded the global captive giant panda population. Her wild origins brought valuable genetic diversity to the captive gene pool, a critical priority for species conservation efforts that aim to avoid inbreeding and maintain the adaptive fitness of captive populations. As one of the earlier wild-born individuals housed at the base during its foundational years, she also provided researchers with rare long-term data on how wild giant pandas acclimate to captive feeding, veterinary care, and social housing arrangements, informing best practices for future rescue and care programs.

Su Su remained on public display and available for non-invasive research observation at the Chengdu Research Base until her death in 2007. During her decades in residence, she was a widely recognized draw for both domestic and international visitors, helping to raise broad public awareness of giant panda habitat loss and the need for coordinated species protection efforts. Her legacy persists in both the genetic lineage of her descendants, many of whom remain part of global captive breeding and conservation education programs, and the refined care protocols developed in part through observations of her adaptation to captive life.