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Ouwehands Zoo

zoo Rhenen, Netherlands

Ouwehands Zoo, located in Rhenen, Utrecht Province, Netherlands, is a 55-hectare zoological facility accredited by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and Nederlandse Vereniging van Dierentuinen (NVD), housing over 200 species including *Ailuropoda melanoleuca* (giant panda), *Gorilla gorilla gorilla* (western lowland gorilla), *Loxodonta africana* (African bush elephant), and *Ursus maritimus* (polar bear). Its signature Pandasia exhibit, opened in 2017 under a 15-year cooperative agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), is the largest giant panda habitat in Europe, hosting individuals Xing Ya, Wu Wen, and their 2020-born cub Fan Xing, who was repatriated to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Bre

How this page is organized

Start with the pandas, then move outward into the surrounding archive

This page gathers the residents linked to Ouwehands Zoo, the key moments recorded here, nearby institutions, and the articles that add context.

Resident archive

Pandas connected to this place

2 pandas recorded

Currently at Ouwehands Zoo

The pandas currently recorded at this institution.

2 active

Wu Wen

武雯

Alive
12 years old
Ouwehands Zoo

Wu Wen (武雯) is a female giant panda born August 11, 2013 at Yaan Bifengxia Base. In April 2017 she traveled to Ouwehands...

captive-bred ouwehands-zoo netherlands +2
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Xing Ya

星雅

Alive
12 years old
Ouwehands Zoo

Xing Ya (星雅) is a male giant panda born August 5, 2013 at Yaan Bifengxia Base. In April 2017 he traveled to Ouwehands Zo...

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Recorded moments

Archive timeline at Ouwehands Zoo

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2022
Dec 23

Fan Xing's Sex Corrected to Female

A routine health check revealed that Fan Xing, initially believed to be male, was actually female — making international headlines as keepers had cared for her for over two years under the wrong assumption.

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2020
Aug 14

Fan Xing Named at Ouwehands Zoo

On her 100th day, Fan Xing was officially named through a public vote. "Fan" honors Van Gogh, "Xing" comes from her father Xing Ya — together evoking the famous "Starry Night."

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2020
May 1

Birth of Fan Xing

Fan Xing was born at Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands — the first giant panda ever born in the country, weighing a healthy size and conceived through natural mating.

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2017
Apr 11

Wu Wen Arrives in the Netherlands

Wu Wen arrived at Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands.

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2017
Apr 11

Xing Ya Arrives in the Netherlands

Xing Ya arrived at Ouwehands Zoo in the Netherlands.

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2014
Aug 9

Wu Wen transferred to ouwehands_zoo

Wu Wen moved to ouwehands_zoo.

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2014
Jul 1

Xing Ya transferred to ouwehands_zoo

Xing Ya moved to ouwehands_zoo.

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In the library

Further reading on Ouwehands Zoo

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Cover image for "Feeding Pandas Across Europe: The Transnational Bamboo Supply Chain"
Nature 📚 general

Feeding Pandas Across Europe: The Transnational Bamboo Supply Chain

Every panda in a European zoo eats bamboo — but where does it come from? This article traces the hidden logistics of panda nutrition abroad: the bamboo plantations in southern France that supply zoos across the continent, the weekly refrigerated truck deliveries, and the challenges of feeding bamboo specialists in climates where bamboo does not naturally grow.

europe bamboo supply-chain +2
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World map

Where this place sits in the wider panda world

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📍 All Locations

Coordinates: 51.9564 N, 5.5925 E

Archive notes

About Ouwehands Zoo

Ouwehands Zoo, located in Rhenen, Utrecht Province, Netherlands, is a 55-hectare zoological facility accredited by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and Nederlandse Vereniging van Dierentuinen (NVD), housing over 200 species including Ailuropoda melanoleuca (giant panda), Gorilla gorilla gorilla (western lowland gorilla), Loxodonta africana (African bush elephant), and Ursus maritimus (polar bear). Its signature Pandasia exhibit, opened in 2017 under a 15-year cooperative agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA), is the largest giant panda habitat in Europe, hosting individuals Xing Ya, Wu Wen, and their 2020-born cub Fan Xing, who was repatriated to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Bre