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.
On September 6, 2006, at 4:51 PM EDT, Lun Lun and mate Yang Yang became the parents of a male cub, named Mei Lan, who made his debut in early 2007. On August 30, 2008 at 10:10pm (22:10) EDT she gave birth to a second cub, also 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]
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 missexed, 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] As of summer 2014, Lun Lun has therefore given birth to two male and three female cubs.
Lun Lun gave birth to her second set of twins on September 3, 2016 in Atlanta Zoo. The first cub was born at 7:20 a.m. EST, and the second cub was born at 8:07 a.m. EST. They have been named Xi Lun (Chinese: 喜倫) and Ya Lun (Chinese: 雅倫).
References
- "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.