Bai Yun

Basic Profile

Bai Yun (Chinese: 白云, “White Cloud”, studbook number 371) is a female giant panda born on September 7, 1991 at the Wolong Hetaoping Base of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP). Her birth was a landmark event — she was the first captive-born female panda at Wolong to reach breeding age after a decade of failed breeding attempts. Her father is Pan Pan (盼盼, sb308), the legendary “hero father,” and her mother is Dong Dong (冬冬), a wild-caught female from Baoxing County.

Family

Bai Yun was born as a twin alongside Lü Di (绿地), who died in March 1992. Her younger brother Da Di (大地, sb394), also sired by Pan Pan with Dong Dong, was born September 22, 1992.

Bai Yun has six cubs, all born at the San Diego Zoo:

• Hua Mei (华美, sb487), female, born August 21, 1999 — sired by Shi Shi via AI. First surviving panda cub born in the US. Returned to China 2004.
• Mei Sheng (美生, sb565), male, born August 19, 2003 — sired by Gao Gao. First natural mating cub in the US. Returned to China 2007.
• Su Lin (苏琳, sb603), female, born August 2, 2005 — sired by Gao Gao. Returned to China 2010.
• Zhen Zhen (珍珍, sb616), female, born August 3, 2007 — sired by Gao Gao. Returned to China 2011.
• Yun Zi (云子, sb644), male, born August 5, 2009 — sired by Gao Gao. Returned to China 2014.
• Xiao Liwu (小礼物, sb817), male, born July 29, 2012 — sired by Gao Gao. Returned to China with Bai Yun in 2019.

As of 2018, Bai Yun is a grandmother of eight and great-grandmother of two. Her grandson Yun Chuan (云川) returned to the San Diego Zoo in 2024 as part of the next generation of the Sino-US panda program.

Life Journey

Birth at Wolong (1991)

Bai Yun was born at a critical moment for captive panda breeding. Before her birth, Wolong had not successfully raised a female cub to reproductive age since 1981. Her successful hand-rearing and healthy development proved that the center’s husbandry techniques had finally turned a corner. She was the first of Pan Pan’s many famous offspring.

Move to San Diego (1996)

On September 10, 1996, Bai Yun and male Shi Shi (石石, sb381) arrived at the San Diego Zoo under a 12-year cooperative research agreement. Their arrival marked the beginning of one of the most consequential panda conservation programs outside China.

First Cub: Hua Mei (1999)

In spring 1999, Bai Yun was artificially inseminated with sperm from Shi Shi. On August 21, 1999, she gave birth to Hua Mei — the first giant panda cub born in the United States to survive to adulthood. The birth was a global sensation and a landmark achievement for panda reproductive science. San Diego Zoo veterinarians performed the first panda ultrasound on Bai Yun during this pregnancy, pioneering techniques used worldwide.

Partnership with Gao Gao (2003–2012)

When Gao Gao (高高, sb415) arrived in January 2003, Bai Yun’s breeding success accelerated dramatically. Unlike Shi Shi, Gao Gao and Bai Yun bred naturally, producing five cubs between 2003 and 2012. Their pairing is considered the most reproductively successful panda partnership in captivity — all five cubs survived and later contributed to the global breeding population.

At age 21, Bai Yun gave birth to her sixth and final cub Xiao Liwu on July 29, 2012, making her the second-oldest panda on record to give birth at the time.

Return to China (2019)

After 23 years at the San Diego Zoo, Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu returned to China on May 16, 2019. The zoo held a three-week farewell celebration featuring a “Panda Friendship Wall” where visitors hung blessings. Upon arrival in Chengdu, they were transferred to the Dujiangyan Base, where Bai Yun resides in the senior panda care facility to this day.

Legacy

Bai Yun is one of the most successful breeding pandas in the history of the captive breeding program outside China. Through her six cubs and their descendants, her genetic contribution extends across facilities in China, the United States, and beyond. Her 23-year residency at the San Diego Zoo helped scientists unlock fundamental knowledge about panda reproduction, behavior, maternal care, and geriatric health — knowledge that has been shared with zoos and research centers worldwide and contributed directly to the species’ recovery from Endangered to Vulnerable status.