Lun Lun
Lun Lun (Chinese: 伦伦) is a female giant panda at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. The panda, now 242 pounds (110 kg), was born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China on August 25, 1997. Her original name, Hua Hua, was changed to Lun Lun by her sponsor, the Taiwanese rock star Su Huilun.
As of summer 2023, Lun Lun has given birth to Mei Lan (male 2006), Xi Lan (male 2008), Po (female 2010), twins Mei Lun and Mei Huan (female 2013) and twins Ya Lun and Xi Lun (female 2016).
Offspring
[edit]Mei Lan in 2006
[edit]On September 6, 2006, at 4:51 p.m EDT, Lun Lun and mate Yang Yang became the parents of a female cub, named Mei Lan, who made his debut in early 2007. After Mei Lan had been returned to China, officials realized that Mei Lan was actually a male.
It is heavily rumored by Chinese panda bloggers and super fans that Mei Lan is the father of numerous cubs, including some of the most famous in China: JiXiao (female 2019), twins ChengFeng and ChengLang (female 2019), twins HeHua and HeYe (female 2020) and Beijing Zoo celebrity Meng Lan (male 2015). Meng Lan gained even more popularity when he briefly escaped his yard at the Beijing Zoo in 2021.
Xi Lan and Po
[edit]On August 30, 2008, at 10:10pm EDT she gave birth to a second cub, a male, named Xi Lan.[1][2]
On November 3, 2010, at 5:39 a.m. EDT, Lun Lun gave birth to her third cub, Po, believed to be a male.[3][4]
Mei Lun and Mei Huan in 2013
[edit]On July 15, 2013, Lun Lun gave birth to her first set of twins, Mei Lun and Mei Huan, both initially identified as male. In December, preliminary exams on Xi Lan and Po as they prepared to return to Chengdu indicated that Po might have been misidentified as male, and the zoo ran DNA tests on several of the bears. On December 13, 2013, Zoo Atlanta reported that Po, Mei Lun, and Mei Huan are all female.[5]
Xi Lun and Ya Lun in 2016
[edit]Lun Lun gave birth to her second set of twins on September 3, 2016, in Atlanta Zoo.[6] They have been named Xi Lun (Chinese: 喜倫) and Ya Lun (Chinese: 雅倫).
References
[edit]- ^ "Giant Panda born at Zoo Atlanta". Zoo Atlanta News. 2008-08-30.
- ^ "Giant panda cub born at Zoo Atlanta". The Associated Press. 2008-08-30. Archived from the original on September 2, 2008.
- ^ "2010's only US giant panda cub born in Atlanta zoo". CNN. 2010-11-03.
- ^ "Zoo Atlanta and Dreamworks Animation Announce Panda Cub's New Name". Zoo Atlanta. February 15, 2011. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011.
- ^ "Update on giant pandas Po, Mei Lun and Mei Huan". Zoo Atlanta. 2013-12-13. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19.
- ^ "19-year-old giant panda Lun Lun gives birth to set of twins at Atlanta Zoo". Twitter (in Catalan). Retrieved 2022-06-22.
