Mei Mei

Basic Profile

Mei Mei (Chinese: 美美), studbook number 217, was a wild-born female giant panda captured in Meigu County (美姑县), Liangshan, Sichuan — the county that gave her name. She was described as exceptionally large-bodied, even by panda standards.

Life Journey

The Bamboo Flowering Crisis (1985)

In 1985, the bamboo forests of Wolong — the primary food source for wild pandas — flowered and died en masse, a natural event that occurs approximately once every 60 years. The die-off triggered a starvation crisis that killed dozens of pandas. Mei Mei was among the survivors.

On September 20, 1985, with special approval from the National Forestry Bureau, the 16-year-old Mei Mei was transferred to Guilin Qixing Park (Seven Star Park) Zoo, where she would spend the next 20 years.

Life at Guilin

Mei Mei’s enclosure at Guilin was specially designed for her comfort. Completed in 2003, it used glass panels instead of iron bars and featured a unique climate control system: pipes connected her enclosure to a nearby limestone cave (Zenggong Rock), with fans drawing cool cave air into her habitat, maintaining a constant 23–24°C year-round.

The zoo planted over two acres of dedicated bamboo forest for her food supply. As she aged and her teeth loosened, her diet shifted from fresh bamboo to a specially prepared porridge made from apples, bananas, corn flour, soybean flour, milk, and eggs — with bamboo becoming a treat rather than a staple.

The Unsuccessful Mother

Breeding attempts were made. In April 1989, experts attempted artificial insemination, but at 20 years old, Mei Mei was already past her fertile years. She never produced cubs — a source of quiet disappointment for her keepers, who described her as gentle and deserving of the title “mother” even without offspring.

Death of a Matriarch

In July 2005, the 36-year-old Mei Mei — then the oldest captive giant panda in the world (equivalent to 108 human years) — fell ill. Her last days were documented in extraordinary detail by Guilin’s medical team:

• July 4: Refused food, breathing difficulties began
• July 11: Began receiving oxygen and IV fluids
• July 12, 10:00 AM: Hospital respiratory specialists called in
• 5:37 PM: Mei Mei died from respiratory and kidney failure

A necropsy revealed left kidney atrophy, a 3 cm cyst on the right kidney, and tumors in her uterus and gallbladder. Her body was measured for the last time: length 21 cun, shoulder height 51 cun.

Two hours after her death, Seven Star Park held a farewell ceremony. She lay surrounded by flowers, her eyes still open. Her keepers, many of whom had cared for her for two decades, lined up to say goodbye.

Mei Mei’s 36-year lifespan set a longevity record for captive giant pandas at the time.