Ya Er

Basic Profile

Ya Er (Chinese: 雅二), studbook number 904, is a female giant panda born on August 27, 2013 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China. Her name means “Ya Number Two,” following the naming convention of her generation at the base.

Her father is Yong Yong (勇勇, studbook 584), a male famous for his exceptionally high natural breeding success rate and nicknamed “Duan Zheng Yong.” Her mother is Xing Ya (星雅, studbook 681), a female known for giving birth to the world’s first wild-training twin cubs. Ya Er has an identical twin sister, Ya Yi (雅一, studbook 903), making them the first offspring of Xing Ya.

Life Journey

Early Years at Chengdu

Ya Er spent her early years at the Chengdu Research Base, where she and her sister grew up under the care of the base’s breeding team. At one point during their cubhood, Ya Yi and Ya Er were taken care of by Mei Lan (梅兰, sb795), a famous nanny panda at Chengdu Base, after their mother Xing Ya was no longer able to care for them.

Move to Shandong

Ya Er now resides at Quancheng Oulebao Animal Kingdom (泉城欧乐堡动物王国) in Dezhou, Shandong Province, a large theme park and zoo complex that houses several pandas in a specially designed habitat with climate control and outdoor access.