Shi Shi (giant panda)

Shi Shi

Shi Shi at the San Diego Zoo
Other name	Chinese: 石石
Species	Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
Sex	Male
Born	Shi Shi c. 1970s Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China
Died	(2008-07-05)July 5, 2008 Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou, China
Cause of death	Natural causes (old age)
Nationality	Chinese
Occupation	Breeding panda
Employer	San Diego Zoo (1996–2003), Guangzhou Zoo
Years active	1996–2008
Known for	Siring Hua Mei via artificial insemination
Owner	China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Residence	Guangzhou Zoo, Guangzhou, China
Mate	Bai Yun
Offspring	Hua Mei
Named after	Means "Rock" in Chinese

Shi Shi (Chinese: 石石; pinyin: Shí Shí; c. 1970s – d. July 5, 2008), or "Rock", was a male giant panda who briefly stayed at the San Diego Zoo. He was the father of Hua Mei.

History

Shi Shi was taken from the wild in Sichuan, China in 1992. He was rehabilitated and sent to San Diego Zoo as the mate for Bai Yun in 1996. In 1999, Bai Yun was artificially inseminated with sperm from Shi Shi and Hua Mei was their offspring.^[1] It was eventually determined that he was much older than was originally assumed, and he was replaced by Gao Gao as Bai Yun's mate.^[2]

Shi Shi lived out his remaining years in China at the Guangzhou Zoo and died on July 5, 2008.^[2]

See also

• List of giant pandas
• List of individual bears

References

1. Peterson, Karla (August 8, 2015). "San Diego Zoo's panda mom a giant gift to science". The San-Diego Union Tribute. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
2. "San Diego Zoo panda profile: Shi Shi". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.