Shi Shi (; c. 1970s – d. July 5, 2008), or "Rock", was 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 u ...

who briefly stayed 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 ...

. He was the father 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. ...

History

Shi Shi was taken from the wild in

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 th ...

, China in 1992. He was rehabilitated and sent to San Diego Zoo as the mate for

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 ...

in 1996. In 1999, Bai Yun was artificially inseminated with sperm from Shi Shi and

was their offspring. It was eventually determined that he was much older than was originally assumed, and he was replaced by

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 Fengtongz ...

as Bai Yun's mate. Shi Shi lived out his remaining years in China at the

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...

Zoo and died on July 5, 2008.

References

1970s animal births Individual giant pandas 2008 animal deaths San Diego Zoo {{Zoo-stub