Ying Ying

Ying Ying is a female giant panda born on 1975-01-01 in the wild of central Sichuan, China. Her studbook number, maintained by the International Panda Studbook, is 212. She was captured as a subadult and transferred to a Chinese breeding facility before being sent to her permanent home outside of China. She is the offspring of two unnamed wild-born giant pandas from the Min Mountains panda population. No genetic data for her wild parents is recorded in global giant panda studbook databases. Currently living at Chapultepec Zoo, she participates in the zoo’s public giant panda education programs that introduce Mexican visitors to the species. As the first giant panda to reside at Chapultepec Zoo, she was a long-term featured animal for the institution’s conservation outreach initiatives. As a wild-born giant panda, she helped build cross-cultural interest in giant panda conservation in North America. She had a docile temperament that made her accessible to zoo visitors, and her presence increased public awareness of threats to wild giant panda habitats. She represents an early era of international giant panda conservation collaboration between China and Mexico.