Zheng Zheng

Basic Profile

Zheng Zheng (Chinese: 争争), studbook number 259, was a male giant panda born on September 14, 1983 at the Beijing Zoo. He holds the historic distinction of being the first giant panda in the world successfully raised through artificial hand-rearing (人工哺育).

Mother

Zheng Zheng’s mother was Yuan Yuan (园园), a wild giant panda captured from Baoxing County, Sichuan Province. She was transferred to Beijing Zoo in 1972. Tragically, she died on September 22, 1983 — only 8 days after giving birth — from unknown causes.

Life and Death

Following his mother’s death, Zheng Zheng was raised entirely by zookeepers and veterinary staff at Beijing Zoo. His hand-rearing was a pioneering effort — no giant panda cub had ever been successfully raised without its mother before.

Zheng Zheng lived for 13 months under the dedicated care of Beijing Zoo staff. He was featured in a special report by People’s Pictorial (人民画报) in June 1984, with photographs by Sima Xiaomeng.

He passed away on October 9, 1984 at Beijing Zoo.

Significance

Zheng Zheng’s survival, though brief, proved that artificial hand-rearing of giant panda cubs was possible. This breakthrough technique would later become critical for saving countless panda cubs whose mothers were unable or unwilling to care for them — including twins and triplets where the mother can only care for one cub at a time.