Su Su

Su Su is a female giant panda born on 1986-01-01 in the wild of Sichuan Province, China. She was entered into the international giant panda studbook as individual number 312 after being rescued as a juvenile, and was transferred to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding for permanent care shortly after rescue. She is the offspring of two unnamed wild giant pandas native to the Min Mountains ecoregion of central Sichuan. No official genetic records document her extended lineage beyond her wild-caught parentage, consistent with standard record-keeping for wild-born giant pandas rescued in the 1980s. Currently living at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, he/she participates in the base’s captive giant panda breeding program, and contributed multiple offspring to the global captive population between 1990 and 2000. She remained in public display and research observation at the base until her death in 2007. As a wild-born giant panda, Su Su provided early researchers at the Chengdu base with valuable data on the adaptation of wild individuals to captive care. Her participation in breeding helped build the genetic diversity of the captive giant panda population, supporting long-term conservation goals for the species. She was a popular attraction for domestic and international visitors to the Chengdu base, raising public awareness of giant panda protection.