Panda Archive

Yang Yang

阳阳

Yang Yang is a female giant panda born on 10 August 2000 at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. This captive-bred individual holds studbook number 525 in the global giant panda studbook system, which tracks the genetics and demographics of all captive giant pandas worldwide. She is the offspring of studbook number 462 and studbook number 399, two adult giant pandas held in the breeding program at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. Her lineage is part of the coordinated captive population managed to maintain genetic diversity for the species. Currently living at Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna, Austria, she participates in the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s ex situ conservation breeding program for giant pandas. The program facilitates public education about giant panda ecology and supports fundraising for in situ conservation work in China. As one of the first long-term resident giant pandas in central European zoos, Yang Yang draws millions of annual visitors, raising widespread public awareness of giant panda conservation. Her calm, foraging-focused behavior matches common giant panda traits, with most of her daily activity dedicated to feeding on bamboo. She represents a successful example of international collaborative conservation for the species, which was downgraded from Endangered to Vulnerable by the IUCN in 2016 due to decades of coordinated conservation work.