Winter Winter

Winter Winter is a female giant panda born on 1 January 1984 in the wild of the Qinling Mountains. Her studbook number registered with the International Union for Conservation of Nature is 284, marking her as one of the earliest wild-caught giant pandas entered into formal captive breeding records. She is the offspring of an unrecorded wild male giant panda and an unrecorded wild female giant panda. She was rescued by wildlife management staff in Shaanxi Province as a juvenile before being transferred to a managed captive facility. Currently living at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, she participates in long-term captive research and early giant panda breeding conservation programs. The center is the world’s leading institution dedicated to giant panda conservation, housing more than 30% of the global captive giant panda population. As one of the founding captive individuals of the Qinling giant panda subpopulation breeding program, Winter Winter adapted well to captive conditions and successfully produced multiple offspring. Her survival and breeding data contributed to early research on wild giant panda rescue and captive acclimation, supporting foundational work that improved giant panda conservation outcomes across China.