Mei Xiang

Mei Xiang is a female giant panda born on July 22, 1998 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. She is listed as studbook number 461 in the international giant panda studbook, which tracks the global captive population of the species. She is the offspring of Pan Pan and Yong Ba. Her father, Pan Pan, is a well-known male giant panda recorded as studbook 354, and her mother Yong Ba is recorded as studbook 355, both part of the established Chinese captive breeding population. Currently living at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C., United States, he participates in cooperative giant panda conservation research and captive breeding programs run jointly by the zoo and Chinese wildlife management authorities. The program supports public education about giant panda ecology and global conservation efforts. As one of the longest-residing giant pandas at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, she draws millions of annual visitors, raising widespread public awareness of giant panda conservation. Giant pandas are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and cooperative captive breeding programs like the one Mei Xiang participates in help preserve genetic diversity for the species.