Yun Chuan

Yun Chuan is a male giant panda born on August 9, 2016, at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan, China, with an official species studbook number of 1195. His lineage traces to two registered captive giant pandas, with his father listed under studbook number 1006 and mother under studbook number 859; no common names for either parent are documented in official public breeding records. He remained under the care of the Chengdu Research Base for the first year of his life, receiving standard captive panda neonatal and juvenile care aligned with Chinese conservation breeding guidelines.

On August 9, 2017, his first birthday, Yun Chuan was transferred to the San Diego Zoo in the United States per the standardized international giant panda loan protocol established by Chinese conservation authorities, as part of the long-running Sino-U.S. giant panda cooperative conservation program. As of current official records, he resides permanently at the San Diego Zoo, where his care follows shared species management protocols agreed upon by both participating nations. His daily care routine includes feeding regimes tailored to support his health, with consumption averaging 12 to 16 kilograms of bamboo per day, consistent with typical feeding behaviors for adult male giant pandas in accredited captive facilities.

Yun Chuan’s residency at San Diego Zoo serves dual public and conservation purposes. He is a core part of the zoo’s public education programming, which informs visitors of habitat loss and other threats facing wild giant panda populations in the Minshan and Qionglai mountain ranges of Sichuan, China. He also contributes to collaborative research initiatives focused on captive giant panda reproductive health, data from which is shared with global panda conservation networks to support evidence-based strategies for boosting the species’ long-term population viability. His participation in the international loan program is framed as part of broader diplomatic and conservation collaboration between China and the United States, aligned with decades of cross-border giant panda protection efforts.