Xiao Liwu

Xiao Liwu is a male giant panda born on 2012-07-29 at San Diego Zoo. He holds studbook number 851 in the global giant panda breeding registry, and his Chinese name translates to "Little Gift". He spent the first several years of his life at San Diego Zoo, where he was a well-documented member of the zoo’s giant panda collection. He is the offspring of Gao Gao and Bai Yun. Gao Gao, studbook 415, and Bai Yun, studbook 371, were a long-term breeding pair at San Diego Zoo that produced multiple viable giant panda offspring. This pair contributed significantly to the international cooperative breeding program for the species during their tenure at the institution. Currently living at China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, he participates in the center’s coordinated ex-situ conservation and breeding program for the species. The center manages the world’s largest population of captive giant pandas, and integrates captive individuals into planned conservation initiatives. As a giant panda born to an international breeding loan pairing, Xiao Liwu increased global public awareness of giant panda conservation. He displays typical giant panda behavioral traits, including daily bamboo foraging and resting. His cross-institutional life history demonstrates the longstanding international cooperation that has helped recover the giant panda from endangered to vulnerable status on the IUCN Red List.