Yong Ba

Yong Ba (studbook number 516) was a female giant panda born on August 17, 1993, at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. A wild-born individual, she was captured as a subadult and brought to the Chengdu Base for permanent human care, placing her among the valuable wild-born founder population of the captive giant panda breeding program. Her confirmed parents are Pan Pan (studbook number 257) and Yong Yong (studbook number 275), two prominent early contributors to captive panda lineage records. Just one year after her birth, on August 17, 1994, she was transferred to the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, where she would reside for the remainder of her life.

Over the course of her breeding career, Yong Ba established a reputation for exceptional maternal competence, successfully raising multiple surviving cubs that directly supported the expansion of the global captive giant panda population. Several of her offspring were later selected for reintroduction projects focused on rebuilding wild panda populations in their native temperate bamboo forest habitats across Sichuan province, extending her impact beyond the captive breeding network. As a wild-born founder, her genetic material added critical diversity to the captive population, reducing the risk of inbreeding and improving the long-term viability of the species under human care.

Following the conclusion of her breeding years, Yong Ba was housed in the China Conservation and Research Center’s dedicated senior panda enclosure, where she received specialized geriatric care until her death in 2012. Beyond her direct contributions to breeding, she participated in the center’s long-term behavioral and physiological research programs, generating data that has informed improved care protocols for both captive and wild giant pandas. Her remains are preserved at the China Conservation and Research Center for ongoing research use, cementing her ongoing value to giant panda conservation efforts.