Mei Sheng (, lit. "Beautiful Life" or "Born in the USA"; born August 19, 2003) 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 ...

born at the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

. He is the second panda to be born at the zoo and is the first offspring of

Bai Yun Bai Yun (; born September 7, 1991) was the first female giant panda who was born at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in China. From September 1996 she lived at the San Diego Zoo for more than 20 years, until being returned to China in May ...

and

Gao Gao Gao Gao () is a male giant panda formerly at the San Diego Zoo. He was returned to China in 2018. To date, he has fathered five giant pandas in captivity. History Gao Gao was born in the wild in China, around 1990, and was taken to the Fengtongzh ...

. He is the half-brother of

Hua Mei Hua Mei (; intended meaning: "China/USA") (born August 21, 1999) is a female giant panda. She is the first giant panda cub to survive to adulthood in the United States. She was born to Bai Yun (mother) and Shi Shi (father) at the San Diego Zoo. ...

and the brother of Su Lin,

Zhen Zhen Zhen may refer to: * Towns of China, called zhèn () in Chinese * True (China), ''zhen'' in Chinese * Zhen (surname) (), a Chinese surname * Balhae Kingdom, originally called Zhen () in Chinese * Lady Zhen (183-221), wife of Cao Pi of Cao Wei of th ...

Yun Zi Yun Zi () is a male giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo on August 5, 2009. His name is "Son of Cloud (Yun)" in Chinese.Xiao Liwu Xiao Liwu (; meaning: "Little Gift") is a male giant panda born at the San Diego Zoo on July 29, 2012. Xiao Liwu is the sixth cub born to his mother Bai Yun, and the fifth for his father Gao Gao. He has one half-sister, Hua Mei, through Bai Yun. H ...

. Mei Sheng was sent to China on November 5, 2007. He was reported to have arrived safely at the

Wolong National Nature Reserve Wolong National Nature Reserve (), also known as Wolong Special Administrative Region (), is a protected area located in Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Established in 1963 with an initial size of about 20,000 hecta ...

on November 8, 2007. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Mei Sheng was relocated to Bifengxia Panda Base, just outside Ya'an, where in May 2009 he successfully copulated with a female giant panda, Ying Ying. Ying Ying's female cub, born August 26, and named Shu Qing, was sired by either Mei Sheng or another male, Lu Lu.

References

External links

San Diego Zoo Giant Panda Research Station
{{San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Individual giant pandas 2003 animal births San Diego Zoo