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TON

Panda archive

Tong Tong

童童

deceased female Born June 1, 1986

Tong Tong (童童) was the first giant panda conceived and raised entirely in Japan. Born June 1, 1986 at Ueno Zoo to Fei Fei and Huan Huan — pandas gifted to Japan — she was conceived through artificial insemination and sparked the "third panda fever" in Tokyo. She died on July 8, 2000 at 14 years old from an unknown illness.

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Profile snapshot

Quick facts

Birth date

June 1, 1986

Birth place

Ueno Zoo

Current location

Ueno Zoo

Status

Deceased

Studbook

Unassigned

Archive activity

1 update · 0 media

Narrative

Life story

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Short version

Tong Tong (童童) was the first giant panda conceived and raised entirely in Japan. Born June 1, 1986 at Ueno Zoo to Fei Fei and Huan Huan — pandas gifted to Japan — she was conceived through artificial insemination and sparked the "third panda fever" in Tokyo. She died on July 8, 2000 at 14 years old from an unknown illness.

Basic Profile

Tong Tong (Chinese: 童童) was a female giant panda born on June 1, 1986 at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. She was the first giant panda conceived and raised entirely in Japan — and her birth triggered what Japanese media called the “third panda fever.”

Her parents were Fei Fei (飞飞) and Huan Huan (欢欢), the pair of pandas gifted by China to Japan in the early 1980s. Tong Tong was conceived through artificial insemination, a significant achievement at the time.

Life and Death

Tong Tong lived her entire life at Ueno Zoo. On July 5, 2000, she stopped eating after a morning meal of milk porridge. Keepers attempted to encourage her, then switched to IV fluid support. She died on July 8, 2000 at 14 years of age. The cause of death was initially unclear pending necropsy.

Her younger sibling You You (悠悠) — born 1988 — returned to China in 1992 as part of the cooperative agreement. After Tong Tong’s death, Ling Ling (陵陵) was sent from Beijing Zoo to Ueno as a replacement.

Evidence

Life timeline

Key updates and milestone events tied to Tong Tong.

1 update

Knowledge graph

Family and network

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Family tree of Tong Tong Parents Self Father unknown Mother unknown Tong Tong 童童 # ♀
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Family relationship data for Tong Tong is being compiled.

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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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