Bei Bei ( ;

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: t , s , p ''Bèibèi'') is a male

giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes us ...

cub who was born and lived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in the United States. He was part of US-China relations

panda diplomacy Panda diplomacy is the practice of sending giant pandas from China to other countries as a tool of diplomacy. From 1941 to 1984, China gifted pandas to other countries. After a change in policy in 1984, pandas were leased instead of gifted. Im ...

, and was sent to the People's Republic of China on November 19, 2019 at the age of 4. He is currently at the Ya’an Bifengxia Base of th
Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center
in southwest Sichuan province. He is the brother of Tai Shan,

Bao Bao Bao Bao (, meaning "treasure"; colloquially meaning "baby") is a female giant panda cub who was born at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. She lived at the Zoo for four years until February 2017. She is currently located at the China Conservat ...

, and

Xiao Qi Ji Xiao Qi Ji (, meaning "little miracle") is a male giant panda cub who was born at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., on August 21, 2020. The fourth surviving cub of Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, Xiao Qi Ji is a result of an artificial inseminati ...

Birth

Bei Bei was born on August 22, 2015 at 10:07 PM, together with a twin who was born at 5:35 PM that died from pneumonia 4 days after their birth. His mother is

Mei Xiang Mei Xiang (Chinese 美香 ''Měi Xiāng'' "beautiful fragrance") is a female giant panda who lives at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. Mei Xiang has given birth to seven cubs, all at the National Zoo and fathered by Tian Tian. Four of her ...

. His father, via artificial insemination, is National Zoo panda Tian Tian. As of October 7, 2015 he weighed 5 lbs (1.8 kg). As of November 21, 2019, he weighed 240 pounds (108 kg).

Naming

On September 25, 2015, five weeks after the birth of the baby panda, he was named "Bei Bei" by

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

and Peng Liyuan, the

first ladies First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the t ...

of the United States and the People's Republic of China, respectively. The name was selected from a list of suggestions by officials from the National Zoo and the Wolong National Nature Reserve in China's Sichuan Province. The National Zoo preferred the name Ping Ping (, "peace"), while "Bei Bei" was the staff choice at Wolong; doubled names are usually chosen because they are

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

. The first ladies revealed the name in both English and

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

, assisted by third-grade students from a Chinese-immersion elementary school in Washington, D.C. The name means "precious" or "treasure", the same as his 2-year-old sister

. Zoo director Dennis Kelly admitted that the name is likely to give rise to jokes and wordplay linking the name to "baby". Before the naming ceremony, Kelly said, "It's a very exciting day because it celebrates more than four decades of research and success on the giant panda, and to have it recognized by the two first ladies is an honor."

Move to China

Bei Bei made his first public viewing on January 16, 2016. After 3 and a half years viewed at the National Zoo in America, the panda was sent to China to participate in a breeding program. On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, Bei Bei departed the National Zoo with veterinarian, Dr. Donald Neiffer, and his life-long keeper Laurie Thompson on the FedEx Panda Express to China. He landed in Chengdu, China on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, and spent 30 days in quarantine before moving to the Chengdu Panda bases. In 2021 Bei Bei became the subject of a children's book titled ''Bei Bei Goes Home'', written by Cheryl Bardoe. The book describes his return from America to China and what that means for conservation efforts.

Adult Life

Bei Bei turned 6 years old in 2022. Giant Panda's achieve the age of sexual maturity between the ages of 4 and 8. It has been reported that upon reaching this milestone, he would become part of a breeding program credited with increasing panda populations until they could be removed from the endangered species list. Some scientists disagree with this assessment and assert that although the number of pandas in captive breeding programs like this one is growing, multiple threats to wild pandas still exist.

References

External links