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 panda, is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its white animal coat, coat with black patches around the eyes, ears, legs and shoulders. ...
who briefly stayed at the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...
. 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 is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
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
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 ...
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 from 2003 to 2018 and was then returned to China. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur in 2013. His right testicle was removed for health in 2014. To date, he has fathered five giant p ...
as Bai Yun's mate.
Shi Shi lived out his remaining years in China at the
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
Zoo and died on July 5, 2008.
[
]
See also
* List of giant pandas
This is a partial list of giant pandas, both alive and deceased. The giant panda is a conservation-reliant species, conservation-reliant vulnerable species. Wild population estimates of the bear vary; one estimate shows that there are about 1,590 ...
* List of individual bears
The following is a list of individual bears ( other than individual giant pandas) which garnered national or worldwide attention:
Actors
* Bart the Bear, a male Alaskan Kodiak bear, played the leading role in the 1988 wilderness drama, '' The Be ...
References
1970s animal births
Individual giant pandas
2008 animal deaths
San Diego Zoo
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