Suhail

Suhail, also known by his Chinese name Jingjing, is a male giant panda with studbook number 1184, born on September 19, 2018, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. His official parental records list father Shui Xiu and mother Fu Feng, while supplementary lineage documentation notes he is the offspring of male giant panda Zhang Liang (studbook number 900) and female giant panda Zhizhi (studbook number 1032). Captive-bred as part of China’s established giant panda conservation breeding program, Suhail spent his first year of life at the research center, receiving standardized care and behavioral monitoring aligned with species management protocols. On his first birthday in September 2019, he was formally transferred to Al Khor Park in Qatar, marking his entry into a bilateral international conservation partnership.

Suhail currently resides at Al Khor Park, where he is part of the long-term international giant panda conservation cooperation program, a joint research and public education initiative between Chinese wildlife authorities and Qatari cultural institutions. As a healthy adult representative of his species, he displays consistent species-typical behaviors, including spending 12 to 14 hours each day foraging on bamboo, with the remainder of his time dedicated to resting, exploratory activity, and occasional enrichment interactions with animal care staff. His enclosure is designed to mimic key features of the giant panda’s native montane bamboo forest habitat, supporting both his physical well-being and opportunities for natural behavior observation for research purposes.

Suhail holds notable significance as one of the few giant pandas residing in the Middle East, serving as a prominent cultural ambassador between China and Qatar. He draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Al Khor Park annually, providing regional audiences with direct exposure to the species and driving increased public awareness of giant panda conservation needs across the Gulf region. His participation in the international cooperative breeding program also contributes to ongoing research into the genetic diversity of captive giant panda populations, a critical priority for supporting the long-term viability of the vulnerable species. Regular health and behavioral data collected from Suhail is shared between Qatari and Chinese conservation teams, contributing to global datasets that inform evidence-based species management strategies.