Panda Profile: Zhen Zhen & Cubs

Zhen Zhen “Precious” was born Aug. 3rd, 2007 at the San Diego Zoo. She is the daughter of Bai Yun and Gao Gao. Zhen Zhen was transferred to the Bifengxia base in late 2010. She made headline news earlier this year for breaking stamina records for panda bear lovemaking, which lasted a full 8 minutes. Sadly, the very next day the record was shattered by another female lasting 17 minutes. However, her breeding resulted in two beautiful female cubs – so despite not being a record holding sexcapade, at least it was effective! Zhen Zhen is currently housed at Bifengxia in an area called the New Leopard Mountain, away from public viewing because she is a new mom.

https://youtu.be/L1N4oL74A1w

The requests from fellow panda lovers for updates on Zhen Zhen has been fairly steady. We hope you enjoy the video and the pictures below of Zhennie and her two cubs. The cubs are both female and were born on August 9th, 2015 at 22:50 & 23:21 which put Zhen Zhen at 8 years old for the births of these cubs.

Cub #1:

Sorry for the slightly blurry photos, it was a cloudy day and the enclosure is even darker so the corner made getting a non-blurry photo a little difficult.

Zhen Zhen and her cub cuddling in the morning.

Zhen Zhen Cub #1 just starting to arm crawl through the bamboo

A close up of Zhen Zhen’s cub #1

Zhen Zhen and her second cub. Zhen Zhen was blurry due to moving towards her keeper to get her panda bread snack.

Zhen Zhen and her first cub. Zhen Zhen was blurry due to moving towards her keeper to get her panda bread snack.

Zhen Zhen’s keeper feeding her panda bread

More from Cub #2 taken on my initial visit:

Zhen Zhen & Cub #2

Zhen Zhen’s second cub attempting to crawl.

Zhen Zhen being a good mother and keeping a watchful eye on cub #2

Zhen Zhen & Cub #2

Close up of Zhen Zhen’s cub #2

Another close up of Zhen Zhen’s cub #2

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We only have one more day here at the base, so let us know if you have a specific request and we will try accommodate.

Thanks for viewing!

14 Comments

Frances Aronson on October 25, 2015 at 9:36 am

Nathan-

Thank you so much for these wonderful pictures and the video! I left a comment on the FB page too so I’ll try not to repeat my gushing. Please tell her keeper (and your interns) how much we love her and miss her and would LOVE if any of them could find a way to send pictures in between your visits. Also there was a picture of all the keepers and the cubs posted–herculean task, but could the cubs (and keepers) be identified? Thanks again!

Nathan on October 25, 2015 at 3:27 pm

Hi Frances. I’m sure we could identify some of the keepers, but I don’t think we could, with any certainty, identify the cubs. We are just heading in for our last day. Always sad to leave.
- Frances Aronson on October 25, 2015 at 6:03 pm
  
  I’m thinking this was a really extraordinary visit for you guys and that it will be harder than usual to leave. Thanks for all you’ve done!
  - Nathan on October 25, 2015 at 9:16 pm
    
    This is our final few hours at Bifengxia before we head back to Chengdu for our flight to Portland. Always difficult to leave, but we will have an anxious 5 year old chomping at the bit waiting for us at the arrivals gate. Makes the transition easier.
    
    We’ve got a few posts lined up while we navigate airports and layovers- hope you enjoy them.

Velia Watts on October 25, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Thank you so much for this feature on Zhen Zhen and her cubs. I saw ZZ when she was still at the San Diego Zoo – she was such a fun loving bear, and still is. Last year, Jeanette Deines and I adopted her and we are both so thrilled about how well she is doing. The pictures are lovely! Thanks again.

Nathan on October 25, 2015 at 10:50 pm

Hi Velia. Zhen Zhen is a very special bear. She’s being kept in one of the quiet enclosures here at Bifengxia, but she seems to like the secluded location. Her cub appears to be happy and healthy- Just saw them both today. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Jeanette Deines on October 26, 2015 at 8:54 am

Thank you so much for these beautiful photos and comments on Zhen Zhen and her little girls! I was so happy to see them all looking healthy and content. Glad to know that ZZ likes her secluded location – I last saw her in 2012 at BFX. Thank you for taking the time for this wonderful update and fantastic photos!

Nathan on October 26, 2015 at 2:04 pm

Hi Jeanette. Zhen Zhen is always a joy to visit. She’s a protective and attentive mother- Thanks for the comment.

Frances Aronson on October 26, 2015 at 10:17 am

Glad you got to see them again, Nathan and glad to hear our “very special bear” is doing so well. I never saw her at SDZ except on cam but she’s the reason I fell in love with pandas.

Nathan on October 26, 2015 at 2:07 pm

I’ll be excited and amazed when I see her cub in February- Going to be much, much larger. The entire base is going to be busy with all of these cubs.

Michelle Lewis on October 26, 2015 at 11:10 am

They are just beautiful! So sweet! Thank you for sharing.

Nathan on October 26, 2015 at 2:08 pm

Hi Michelle. Quite a treat for us to see all of the cubs this year. Thanks for visiting.

Frances Aronson on November 20, 2015 at 9:25 am

The picture of Zhen Zhen looking at her keeper is (one of) my #1 pictures.

Meg on November 20, 2015 at 1:13 pm

I love this one too! Thanks for all the votes – I’m so excited to share with you all what these will be used for but have to keep my lips sealed for the next couple weeks! It’s KILLING me 🙂

Frances Aronson on October 25, 2015 at 9:36 am

Nathan-

Thank you so much for these wonderful pictures and the video! I left a comment on the FB page too so I’ll try not to repeat my gushing. Please tell her keeper (and your interns) how much we love her and miss her and would LOVE if any of them could find a way to send pictures in between your visits. Also there was a picture of all the keepers and the cubs posted–herculean task, but could the cubs (and keepers) be identified? Thanks again!
- Nathan on October 25, 2015 at 3:27 pm
  
  Hi Frances. I’m sure we could identify some of the keepers, but I don’t think we could, with any certainty, identify the cubs. We are just heading in for our last day. Always sad to leave.
  - Frances Aronson on October 25, 2015 at 6:03 pm
    
    I’m thinking this was a really extraordinary visit for you guys and that it will be harder than usual to leave. Thanks for all you’ve done!
    - Nathan on October 25, 2015 at 9:16 pm
      
      This is our final few hours at Bifengxia before we head back to Chengdu for our flight to Portland. Always difficult to leave, but we will have an anxious 5 year old chomping at the bit waiting for us at the arrivals gate. Makes the transition easier.
      
      We’ve got a few posts lined up while we navigate airports and layovers- hope you enjoy them.
Velia Watts on October 25, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Thank you so much for this feature on Zhen Zhen and her cubs. I saw ZZ when she was still at the San Diego Zoo – she was such a fun loving bear, and still is. Last year, Jeanette Deines and I adopted her and we are both so thrilled about how well she is doing. The pictures are lovely! Thanks again.
- Nathan on October 25, 2015 at 10:50 pm
  
  Hi Velia. Zhen Zhen is a very special bear. She’s being kept in one of the quiet enclosures here at Bifengxia, but she seems to like the secluded location. Her cub appears to be happy and healthy- Just saw them both today. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Jeanette Deines on October 26, 2015 at 8:54 am

Thank you so much for these beautiful photos and comments on Zhen Zhen and her little girls! I was so happy to see them all looking healthy and content. Glad to know that ZZ likes her secluded location – I last saw her in 2012 at BFX. Thank you for taking the time for this wonderful update and fantastic photos!
- Nathan on October 26, 2015 at 2:04 pm
  
  Hi Jeanette. Zhen Zhen is always a joy to visit. She’s a protective and attentive mother- Thanks for the comment.
Frances Aronson on October 26, 2015 at 10:17 am

Glad you got to see them again, Nathan and glad to hear our “very special bear” is doing so well. I never saw her at SDZ except on cam but she’s the reason I fell in love with pandas.
- Nathan on October 26, 2015 at 2:07 pm
  
  I’ll be excited and amazed when I see her cub in February- Going to be much, much larger. The entire base is going to be busy with all of these cubs.
Michelle Lewis on October 26, 2015 at 11:10 am

They are just beautiful! So sweet! Thank you for sharing.
- Nathan on October 26, 2015 at 2:08 pm
  
  Hi Michelle. Quite a treat for us to see all of the cubs this year. Thanks for visiting.
Frances Aronson on November 20, 2015 at 9:25 am

The picture of Zhen Zhen looking at her keeper is (one of) my #1 pictures.
- Meg on November 20, 2015 at 1:13 pm
  
  I love this one too! Thanks for all the votes – I’m so excited to share with you all what these will be used for but have to keep my lips sealed for the next couple weeks! It’s KILLING me 🙂