Yong Ba

Basic Profile

Yong Ba (Chinese: 永巴, studbook number 397) was a female giant panda born in the wild of Baoxing County, Sichuan around 1983. She was discovered and brought into human care as a subadult in the early 1990s, becoming one of the most important breeding females at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda (CCRCGP).

Her name “永巴” (Yong Ba) — “Eternal Ba” — references her origin in Baoxing, the county in Sichuan renowned as the type locality where Père David first discovered the giant panda for Western science in 1869.

Early Life & Capture

Yong Ba was born wild in the mountainous bamboo forests of Baoxing, a biodiversity hotspot in the Qionglai Mountains. The exact year of her birth is uncertain; most sources place it around 1983. She was found and rescued — likely in the early 1990s — and brought to the CCRCGP’s facility at Wolong (Hetaoping).

As a wild-born founder, Yong Ba carried valuable genetic diversity that made her a priority for the captive breeding program.

Breeding Career

Yong Ba proved to be one of the most prolific mothers in the early CCRCGP program. Between 1995 and 2000, she gave birth to 6 litters totaling 12 cubs, of which 8 survived to adulthood — an exceptional survival rate for the era.

Surviving Offspring

• Fei Fei (妃妃, sb432, female, b. 1995-08-16) — herself a prolific mother
• Jin Zhu (锦竹, sb437, female, b. 1996-08-12) — died in 2014 during wild training
• Tian Tian (添添, sb458, male, b. 1997-08-27) — at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Washington DC
• Xi Xi (茜茜, sb476, female, b. 1998) — at Nanjing Tangshan
• Guo Qing (国庆, male, b. 1999)
• Yuan Yuan (媛媛, female, b. ~1999)
• Long Teng (龙腾, sb524, male, b. 2000-08-18)
• Long Fei (龙飞, male, b. 2000)

Her 1999 litter notably included a rare set of triplets — an extremely uncommon event in giant panda reproduction — though not all survived.

Among her descendants is Jing Jing (晶晶, sb598), an Olympic mascot prototype, making Yong Ba a great-grandmother to one of the most iconic pandas in Chinese popular culture.

Life Journey: Loans & Public Controversy

Yong Ba remained at the CCRCGP Wolong/Hetaoping base until 2003, serving as a core breeding female.

In September 2003, she was loaned to Hefei Xiaoyaojin Park (合肥逍遥津公园) as part of a short-term exhibition.

In May 2004, she was transferred to Shenzhen Safari Park (深圳野生动物园), where she remained for five years.

The 2009 Controversy

In early 2009, a concerned visitor posted photos and a detailed account of Yong Ba’s living conditions at Shenzhen Safari Park under the title “Who Still Remembers the Face of My Youth?”. The post went viral — attracting over 100,000 views and 4,000 responses in a single day.

The photos showed an emaciated, listless elderly panda in a bare concrete enclosure. Visitors reported that Yong Ba was fed only small pieces of apple in exchange for photo opportunities with paying guests. The public outcry was immediate, with many accusing the park of neglect and demanding her return to Sichuan.

The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda intervened, requiring Shenzhen to issue a written response and rectify the conditions. Deputy Director Li Desheng stated that the center would consider bringing Yong Ba back if conditions could not be guaranteed.

On April 9, 2009, following the public pressure, Yong Ba was returned to the CCRCGP Bifengxia Base in Ya’an, Sichuan. There, she was housed in an enclosure adjacent to the veterinary hospital, equipped with air conditioning and a spacious outdoor area.

Final Years

After her return, Yong Ba enjoyed a peaceful retirement at Bifengxia. Despite her advanced age — estimated at over 26 years, equivalent to a centenarian in human years — she was observed eating well and moving about her enclosure.

She was later transferred to the Hetaoping base for geriatric care. On December 4, 2011, keepers found her lethargic in the morning. Despite emergency veterinary intervention, she died at 11:00 AM at approximately 28 years old — one of the oldest pandas in the CCRCGP program at the time.

Yong Ba’s life and controversial treatment in Shenzhen sparked lasting public awareness about the welfare of elderly loaned pandas, influencing subsequent loan agreements and care standards across Chinese zoos.