Tohui or Towi (July 21, 1981 - November 16, 1993) is the name of the second

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 ...

to be born in captivity outside of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and the first overseas-born giant panda to survive into adulthood. She became a cultural icon in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Tohui is from Tarahumara (the language of the Raramuri) and means "(male) child". (Variants: tohui, toui, towi). When Tohui was born it was believed she was male, and the contrary was only learned after a contest for the name was held. The female equivalent is Tehuete.

Biography

Tohui was born on July 21, 1981 at

Chapultepec Zoo Chapultepec Zoo (Spanish: ''Zoológico de Chapultepec'') is a zoo located in Chapultepec Park; it is one of four zoos near Mexico City, and the best known Mexican zoo. It was founded July 6, 1923 by Mexican biologist Alfonso Luis Herrera using do ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. She is the daughter of 'Ying Ying' and 'Pe Pe', a pair of giant pandas gifted to

by the

Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...

on September 10, 1975. In 1980 the couple had their first offspring Xen Li (the first live birth outside China), unfortunately Xen Li lived only eight days. She had a daughter named Xin Xin, who was conceived naturally with a panda named 'Chia Chia' from the

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

. Tohui died on November 16, 1993, at the age of 12, victim of a crisis of

leptospira ''Leptospira'' ( grc, leptos, italics=yes, 'fine, thin' and la, spira, links=no, 'coil') is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney t ...

. Her remains are on display in Chapultepec Zoo along with her parents and her partner Chia Chia.

Cultural icon

Following her birth, cameras were installed to monitor her well being (to avoid a repeat of Xen Li who was killed after her mother rolled on her while sleeping). Mexican media were attentive to her condition and as a result of the coverage she received, Tohui became a star in Mexico. Her presence at Chapultepec catapulted the zoo to fame. The line to visit her reached all the way to the monument of the

Niños Héroes The ''Niños Héroes'' (Boy Heroes, or Heroic Cadets) were six Mexican military cadets who were killed in the defence of Mexico City during the Battle of Chapultepec, one of the last major battles of the Mexican–American War, on 13 September ...

. Following her birth, the zoo started to receive considerably more financial support, enough to start its first veterinary hospital. Her popularity was such that at the request of the then

First Lady 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 A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Carmen Romano Carmen Romano de López Portillo (born Carmen Romano Nolk; 10 February 1926 – 9 May 2000) was the First Lady of Mexico from 1976 to 1982. She was the first wife of Mexican president José López Portillo. Personal life and death In the 1970 ...

, a song, ''El pequeño panda de Chapultepec'', was created. Composed by

Laura Gomez Llanos Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a ba ...

and performed by singer

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

. The song went on to sell a million copies. To celebrate her fifth birthday, the

Banco de México The Bank of Mexico ( es, Banco de México), abbreviated ''BdeM'' or ''Banxico,'' is Mexico's central bank, monetary authority and lender of last resort. The Bank of Mexico is autonomous in exercising its functions, and its main objective is to ac ...

minted a commemorative coin, where Tohui appeared in her mother's arms, Ying Ying.

External links

Music video for "El pequeño panda de Chapultepec"

References

{{Famous giant pandas 1981 animal births 1993 animal deaths Individual giant pandas