Pambassador @ Zoo Berlin

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Pambassador @ Zoo Berlin

Posted by Jeroen Jacobs | Date: 2011 12 30 | In: Zoo Berlin

To finish the ‘pandastic’ year 2011, I visited Bao Bao at Zoo Berlin.

It is always great to see Bao Bao back, since he has a special place in my heart. He is the panda whom I have visited the most. It was my twelfth time. Bao Bao lives in Berlin since November 5, 1980. He is now the oldest panda in the world, together with Jia Jia from Ocean Park Hongkong. I am very happy to see that Bao Bao still has a good health…

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Go to our Photo gallery or Flickr page to see more pictures of Bao Bao.

Here is some info about Bao Bao:

Hua Guofeng, Premier of the People’s Republic of China & Chairman of the Communist Party of China, brought a state visit to the BRD (West Germany) in September 1979. As a goodwill gift the Chinese government gave a couple of giant pandas to the German Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt. These pandas would live at Zoo Berlin. From 1971 until 1980 China send 8 couples of giant pandas to foreign countries as goodwill gifts.

1971 Lin Lin & San Xing North Korea Pyongyang Zoo, Pyongyang
1972 Ling Ling & Hsing Hsing U.S.A National Zoo, Washington D.C.
1972 Lan Lan & Kang Kang Japan Ueno Zoo, Tokyo
1973 Li Li & Yen Yen France Zoo de Vincennes, Paris
1974 Ching Ching & Chia Chia United Kingdom London Zoo, London
1975 Ying Ying & Pe Pe Mexico Chapultepec Zoo, Mexico City
1978 Shao Shao & Chang Chang Spain Zoo de la Casa de Campo, Madrid
1980 Bao Bao & Tjen Tjen Germany Zoologischer Garten Berlin, Berlin

On November 5, 1980 Bao Bao (studbook number 208) & Tjen Tjen (studbook number 210) arrived in Berlin. Both pandas were approximately 2 years old and captured in April respectively June 1979. After their capture, they lived at Chengdu Zoo until they moved to Germany. Bao Bao, the male panda, weighted 60 kg and Tjen Tjen, the female, 50 kg when they arrived in Berlin. Even though the animals had not been kept together at Chengdu Zoo, Zoo Berlin let them together after 10 days and they seemed to show interest in each other. They lived together without any problems and they were only separated at night. They were a playful couple of pandas and they instantly became the most popular animals of Zoo Berlin.

Tjen Tjen came in oestrus for the first time in June 1981, but Bao Bao showed no interest. November 1981 was marked by the beginning of serious fights with each other. The zoo separated the pandas for several days, because Bao Bao’s physical dominance became quite a stress factor for Tjen Tjen. When they came back together after the separation, they played again rather peacefully with each other. Tjen Tjen’s second oestrus in April 1982 was stronger and lasted longer. This time was quite interested and mounted when Tjen Tjen reached her peak though without mating. Early in 1983 Bao Bao’s testicles became to descend and they hoped for a strong oestrus cycle of Tjen Tjen. But the oestrus in June 1983 was less strong and Bao Bao even didn’t notice it. Artificial Insemination was planned for the next year but could not be performed due to Tjen Tjen’s sudden death on February 8, 1984. She had an unexpected intestine infection, suffered from weakness and had kidneys problems.

Bao Bao stayed alone in Berlin until November 14, 1991, when he was loaned to London Zoo. The United Kingdom received their Goodwill Panda Gift when Prime Minister Edward Heath visited China. Ching Ching & Chia Chia arrived in London on September 14, 1974. Their female panda Ching Ching died on June 20, 1985. On September 2, 1988 their male panda Chia Chia left for Mexico. After a short stop in Cincinnati, U.S.A. he would try to breed with the female pandas at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City. And he succeeded in his mission. On July 1, 1990 Tohui gave birth to Xin Xin. Her name means “hope”. The birth of Xin Xin highlighted the importance of international cooperation for breeding rare and endangered animals. For that same reason, female panda Ming Ming (studbook number 214) arrived in London on October 19, 1991. The British Former Prime Minister Edward Heath, who had received Ching Ching & Chia Chia, travelled to China in December 1990. He talked with Li Peng, the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, and he agreed to loan a female panda to London Zoo for an international breeding project. Chia Chia would return to London and breed with Ming Ming, but he died in Mexico on October 13, 1991, 6 days before Ming Ming’s arrival in London. At the London Zoo, they know they had to act quickly and find a male panda. They realized this loan from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to London Zoo was something special and that they couldn’t lose this breeding opportunity. They contacted Zoo Berlin and the Germans agreed to loan Bao Bao to London Zoo. He and his keeper, Lutz Störmer, moved to London. But Bao Bao & Ming Ming didn’t like each other. On the first day that both pandas were in the same enclosure, it all went wrong when the play-fight that normally proceeds the mating process with pandas turned nasty and Ming Ming was badly injured. She lost part of an ear, had two infections and needed surgery and antibiotics. The risks were too great to put them together again and they performed artificial insemination on Ming Ming in 1992 & 1993. Bao Bao returned to his home at Zoo Berlin on May 26, 1993. The AI on Ming Ming didn’t work and she returned to China on October 26, 1994. Ming Ming died on May 7, 2011 at Panyu Xiangjiang Wild Animal World.

Bao Bao stayed alone Zoo Berlin until April 14, 1995. Female panda Yan Yan (studbook number 378) came on a breeding loan to Berlin. She was wild born in August 1985. Bao Bao & Yan Yan also didn’t get along with each other. Both pandas lived separately in connecting rooms. On April 7, 1997 Yan Yan was artificially inseminated for the first time with Bao Bao’s sperm. At Zoo Berlin scientists performed AI for several years. They gave up their hope for panda cubs in 2005. After numerous attempts at artificial insemination and a visit by Chinese zoologists, it emerged that Yan Yan was rendered infertile by a hormonal disorder. Yan Yan died on March 26, 2007 of heart failure caused by acute constipation.

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