Tian Tian () is a 275-pound 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 ...

at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. The panda was born on August 27, 1997, at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda 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 hect ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

Province, to Yong Ba (mother) and Pan Pan (father). Tian Tian is the half-brother 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 ...

, formerly 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 ...

. Giant pandas are thought to be solitary creatures, except for mating season and mothers with young cubs. Tian generally spends his time alone, except for brief periods during breeding season. Tian is able to see Mei Xiang, and any cub with her, through some mesh windows in the exhibit. Male giant pandas play no part in raising their young in the wild. Tian and Mei are trained to participate in a full medical examination, including a blood draw, without anesthesia. The giant pandas enter a special squeeze cage with small openings and follow keeper instructions, getting a food reward for participating.

Fatherhood

Tian Tian is a father by artificial insemination only. While he and Mei Xiang have been given multiple opportunities to mate naturally—and both were interested in doing so—they have never achieved the correct positioning. This is a problem with giant pandas born in captivity. In the summer of 2005, Mei gave birth to a male cub, Tai Shan, on July 9. In keeping with the agreement made at the time Tian Tian and Mei Xiang arrived in the United States, Tai Shan left the National Zoo on February 4, 2010, to return to his ancestral homeland in China. He flew there on the same flight as his cousin Mei Lan, who was born at

Zoo Atlanta Zoo Atlanta (sometimes referred as Atlanta Zoo) is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited zoological park in Atlanta, Georgia. The current president and CEO of Zoo Atlanta is Raymond B. King. History Zoo Atlanta was founded in ...

. Some of Tian Tian's semen was preserved cryogenically, and used when Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated in 2012. Mei Xiang gave birth to a female cub on the night of September 16th of that year. The unnamed cub died of liver failure at a week old. On August 23, 2013, Mei Xiang delivered a female cub who was later named

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 ...

. Her name was selected by the public and given on her 100th day of life. Approximately 23 hours after Bao Bao's birth, Mei Xiang delivered a second cub, also female, who was stillborn. Bao Bao lived at the National Zoo until February 21, 2017, to return to her ancestral homeland in China. Tian Tian has been confirmed through genetic testing to be the father of two cubs, both male, born to Mei Xiang on August 22, 2015. One of the cubs was named

Bei Bei Bei Bei ( ; Chinese: t , s , p ''Bèibèi'') is a male giant panda 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, and was ...

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 Peng Liyuan (; born 20 November 1962) is a Chinese soprano and contemporary folk singer and the spouse of Xi Jinping, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and President of the People's Republic of China. Peng gained populari ...

, the wives of the then American and Chinese presidents. The second cub died at 4 days old and was not named. Bei Bei lived at the National Zoo until November 19, 2019, to return to his ancestral homeland in China. On August 21, 2020, another male cub named Xiao Qi Ji was born to Mei Xiang.

References

External links

Giant Pandas
at the National Zoo
Meet the National Zoo Pandas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tian, Tian Individual giant pandas 1997 animal births National Zoological Park (United States)