Run Jiu

Basic Profile

Run Jiu (Chinese: 润九, “Moisture Nine”), studbook number 1145, is a female giant panda born on July 31, 2018 at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, weighing 151.8 grams. Her mother is Yuan Run (园润).

The Nine Stitches

Run Jiu’s birth was complicated. Her mother Yuan Run was a first-time mother, and the delivery was difficult. When the cub finally emerged, Yuan Run — panicked and inexperienced — accidentally scratched her newborn while trying to pick it up. The wound ran from the corner of the mouth to the neck.

Keepers immediately removed the cub and discovered the injury. Wang Chengdong (王成东), deputy director of the Chengdu Base, led an emergency surgical team. The wound was carefully cleaned and sutured with nine stitches.

The cub was named “Run Jiu” (润九) — the “Jiu” meaning nine, commemorating the nine stitches, and also meaning “long-lasting,” expressing the hope that she would survive and thrive.

Round-the-Clock Care

Because the wound affected her mouth, Run Jiu could not nurse normally. Keepers hand-fed her every two hours, around the clock, carefully delivering colostrum drop by drop. Her vital signs were monitored continuously.

After one month, Run Jiu had recovered sufficiently, but Yuan Run still showed no maternal confidence. The decision was made to place Run Jiu with foster mother Miao Miao (淼淼) in the Moon Nursery (月亮产房), alongside another cub named Jin Yu (金玉). Miao Miao accepted both cubs and raised them successfully.

In 2019, Run Jiu was selected for the “Story Panda Doll” (有故事的熊猫公仔) collection by the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Foundation, raising awareness about the challenges of neonatal panda care.