Meng Er

Basic Profile

Meng Er (Chinese: 萌二), studbook number 1085, is a male giant panda born on August 22, 2013 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. His mother is Meng Meng (萌萌) and his father is Yong Yong (勇勇).

He belongs to one of the most famous families in the captive panda population:

• Meng Da (萌大) — twin brother
• Meng Lan (萌兰) — half-brother, the internet-famous “Golden Monkey” of Beijing Zoo
• Meng Bao (萌宝) and Meng Yu (萌玉) — half-sisters

The White Eyes

Meng Er’s most distinctive feature — the one that makes him instantly identifiable among the hundreds of pandas at Beijing Zoo — is his stark white eye circles (白眼圈). Unlike the black patches typical of all giant pandas, the fur around Meng Er’s eyes is pure white.

The cause was a mite infection (螨虫眼) contracted in his youth. The parasitic infestation damaged the pigment-producing cells in the skin around his eyes, and when the fur grew back, it did so without melanin — leaving bright white rings that resemble a reverse raccoon mask.

The condition is not painful or dangerous, but it does require ongoing management. Keepers apply medicated eye drops regularly, and Meng Er has become famous for his cooperative behavior during treatment — he sits calmly, eating bamboo, while keepers administer the drops, barely flinching.

The Hand-Breaking Technique

Meng Er has developed a feeding method unique among the world’s pandas. He does not bite bamboo to break it.

Instead, he:

1. Selects a bamboo stalk
2. Grips it with both front paws
3. Snaps it with a sharp twisting motion of his wrists
4. Accompanies the effort with an exaggerated grimace — baring his teeth, squinting — that has become his signature expression

The grimace-and-snap routine is his meal-time trademark, and visitors at Beijing Zoo’s Asian Games Pavilion routinely wait for it, cameras ready.

Life at Beijing Zoo

Meng Er was transferred to Beijing Zoo’s Asian Games Pavilion at approximately one year of age. Because he was hand-reared from a young age, he missed the natural nursing and survival skills training that a mother would typically provide. He adapted well to zoo life nonetheless, growing into a round, healthy adult.

He shares the Asian Games Pavilion with his twin brother Meng Da, and the two are exhibited in adjacent enclosures. His round physique and characteristic sleeping poses — often sprawled on his back, completely unselfconscious — make him a favorite subject for visitor photography.

In 2023, keepers introduced a new slide as enrichment. Meng Er tested it cautiously, then settled against it to eat, treating the new object as a backrest rather than a play structure — a decision his fans found perfectly in character.