Bao Bao

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Big panda "Bao Bao" in the Berlin Zoological Garden

Bao Bao ( Chinese 宝宝, Pinyin Bǎobǎo  - "sweetheart"; * 1978 in China ; † August 22, 2012 in Berlin ) was a giant panda ( Ailuropoda melanoleuca ). In the possession of the Berlin Zoo from 1980 , he was one of the public favorites. Until his death, the male was considered to be the oldest giant panda bear in the world to live in a zoological garden and was also the only specimen that was kept in a German zoo .

Arrival in Berlin and first attempts at breeding

Bao Bao arrived on November 5, 1980 at the age of two with the female panda Tjen Tjen ( Chinese 天天, Pinyin Tiāntiān  - "little sky", often referred to as Tian Tian or Tien Tien ) in West Berlin . The Chinese party and government leader Hua Guofeng gave the animals to the German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as a state gift in 1979 , who donated them to the Berlin Zoo. Both Bao Bao and Tjen Tjen were caught in the wild and came from the then almost undeveloped nature reserves bordering the Chinese city of Chengdu . They had been caught in large wooden traps that had been set up in wooded cliffs and provided with meat bait. At the time, China relied on hired Tibetans for hunting , who were said to be good with the animals.

Bao Bao and Tjen Tjen weren't the first giant pandas to be seen in Berlin. In 1939 Happy was the first living bamboo bear to be exhibited in Europe. The female of the animal dealers Ruhe and Fockelmann was shown in the zoos of Paris , Cologne , Leipzig , Hanover and Munich and later shipped to the United States. In Berlin, Happy was shown for 63 days in the central hall of the Antelope House. 19 years later, from August 2 to 26, 1958 , Tierpark Berlin exhibited the panda bear Chi Chi with great success in the so-called bear play cage of the children's zoo. According to press reports, the young animal attracted 400,000 visitors to the zoo in the three weeks. Chi-Chi was originally intended to be sold in the United States. Due to a trade embargo on Chinese goods, it was later purchased by the London Zoo for £ 12,000 .

Until they left for Berlin, Bao Bao and Tjen Tjen lived with six other panda bears in the Chengdu Zoo. There, the tamer Bao Bao was a crowd-pleaser among Chinese zoo visitors. His nurses had taught him how to do a somersault while Tjen Tjen was said to be scratchy. After moving into two specially built panda enclosures with corresponding indoor stables worth around 750,000 marks , Bao Bao settled in well. He got used to Tjen Tjen again, who had been separated from him for the transport from China to Germany. The two panda bears quickly became a crowd puller and increased the Berlin Zoo's income from ticket sales by 30 percent. The two animals lived together peacefully until they were four years old, before arguments and heated arguments broke out. In 1981 Tjen Tjen came into oestrus , but died three years later, on February 8, 1984, of a viral infection, before Bao Bao had reached sexual maturity. At that time it was the only reproductive female panda in the zoological gardens of the western world.

Bao Bao then lived alone in the Berlin Zoo, as all attempts to find a female for him failed. In the early 1990s, attempts were made to mate the animal with female panda bears from other zoos. In 1991 he was loaned to the London Zoo for this reason, which just had the panda bear Ming Ming ( Chinese 明明, Pinyin Míngmíng  - " little light") , who had just arrived from China . The effort to achieve breeding success there in a natural way was not crowned with success. The female panda was not interested in Bao Bao, who bit off her ear. The two animals had to be separated and on May 26, 1993, Bao Bao arrived back at the Berlin zoo due to the high consumption of dog biscuits ten kilograms overweight.

Living together and breeding attempts with Yan Yan

Panda female "Yan Yan" (deceased 2007)

On April 14, 1995, the Berlin Zoo received another female panda from the Beijing Zoo on loan from the Chinese government for five years , who in return was provided with work equipment. Even with ten-year-old Yan Yan (German: “the beautiful one” , often translated as “the cute one” ), who had previously been borrowed from Beijing for breeding four times in vain, it was not possible to naturally produce offspring. Panda bears are only ready to conceive once a year for around 36 hours. Hormone therapy only caused the she-bear to masturbate with the help of a bamboo stick , which was kept from the public. From 1997 onwards, artificial insemination was used. Bao Bao was anesthetized and electro-ejaculated to donate sperm, which was then injected into Yan Yan.

These attempts were accompanied by great media interest from the Berlin newspapers until it was established in 1999 that the female animal was sterile and only capable of pseudo pregnancies, while Bao Bao was facing the end of her fertility at the age of 22. In 2004 two panda experts from the Beijing Zoo traveled to Berlin to "examine" Yan Yan. Among them was Peng Zhenxin, the director of the Giant Panda Center. The Chinese experts blamed Bao Bao's lack of interest for the lack of offspring and fertilization attempts were made at Yan Yan with a frozen semen cocktail of several pandas from the Beijing Zoo. Although Peng Zhenxin assumed that they would be crowned with success on the seventh attempt, there were no panda offspring in the Berlin zoo. The breeding attempts were discontinued after ten years in 2005 after further fertilization attempts with Bao Baos on the German side had failed as properly certified sperm last in May 2004. If panda offspring had actually seen the light of day in the Berlin Zoo, they would automatically have fallen to China, since all conspecifics born outside of China are declared state property of the People's Republic.

The whereabouts and death of Yan Yan

Bao Bao

In 2002 the loan agreement for Yan Yan between Zoo Berlin and the China Wildlife Conservation Association, the Chinese Ministry of Forestry, expired. However, it was extended for another five years with concessions. For example, Berlin invested more in collaboration with Chinese biologists and scientists and, with the help of two projects, financed part of the species protection for the giant panda in China, which is threatened with extinction. In the same year, Ursula Piëch, the wife of the VW supervisory board chairman Ferdinand Piëch , was found a financially strong godmother for five years. Four years later, in October 2006, Yan Yan's right to stay at the Berlin Zoo expired again. The then zoo director Jürgen Lange reported to the press that Yan Yan had to stay in Berlin and that long-term efforts would be made to find a young pair of pandas. The value for a young animal was put at one million euros in 2007  . There was also talk of a completely redesigned panda enclosure. At that time, the insurance costs for the two animals were around € 35,000, while the bamboo, which was delivered twice a month in refrigerated trucks by a specialist company from the south of France, cost the same amount every year.

On March 26, 2007, the panda population in the Berlin zoo was reported in the German and international media when the 22-year-old Yan Yan died of acute constipation without any previous signs of illness. This ultimately led to blood poisoning and, in turn, cardiovascular failure. Since panda bears are loners by nature, Bao Bao will "not mourn much," says zoo veterinarian André Schüle. The animals were also kept separately. The false theory circulated in the Chinese media that Yan Yan fell victim to a diet of sweets and alcohol, while the German tabloids and well-known British daily newspapers such as The Times or the Daily Mail believed that the polar bear Knut was to blame for the death of the animal rumored. By order of the Chinese Ministry of Forestry, Yan Yan's body was to be transferred to China and not remain in Berlin as a specimen . The body was housed in the Berlin Natural History Museum until the beginning of January 2008 .

Just a few weeks after Yan Yan's death, the CDU politician Friedbert Pflüger told officials in Chongqing that the Berlin zoo was interested in a new panda bear on a trip to China . Pflüger hoped that the project would be pursued by the German Chancellor and Federal Chairman of the CDU, Angela Merkel , who traveled to China in autumn 2007. In September 2007, Bai Gang, the vice-mayor of Chengdu, visited Berlin and raised hopes that the zoo could have a new panda bear or even a breeding pair in the near future. Bai signed a friendship contract with Berlin's governing mayor, Klaus Wowereit , "the aim of which was to conduct joint research on the protection of endangered species and the breeding of giant pandas" . With his old age of over 30, Bao Bao was considered unlikely to have a partner.

Health and housing conditions

Bao Bao after feeding

Despite his old age, Bao Bao was considered healthy in the last years of his life, but was sporadically supplied with a blood circulation- enhancing drug ( Karsivan ). In March 2009, his weight was given as 105 kilograms, after it had previously been 115 kilograms. The last animal given away by the Chinese government was awake fourteen hours a day, twelve of which were eating. Bao Bao consumed about twelve kilograms of bamboo, as well as soy, rice dumplings and chicken soups every day in his 350 m² enclosure. From 1980 to 2009 the giant panda was looked after by the zoo keeper Lutz Störmer, who described him as a “reliable buddy without insidious thoughts” and was always greeted by Bao Bao with a short “bark”.

In 1999, the German daily newspaper Die Welt mit dem Bären advertised a campaign by Bao Bao and three equity experts from major German banks to select five DAX stocks for 1999. The zoo animal's depot occupied one of the back seats. Seven years later Bao Bao were repeatedly dedicated to portraits in the popular animal documentary series Panda, Gorilla & Co. ( RBB , 2006 and 2008) and Berliner Schnauzen ( ZDF , 2006). At the beginning of June 2008, the Austrian crystal manufacturer Swarovski took over the sponsorship of Bao Bao and presented the zoo with a check for 10,000 euros.

death

According to the Berlin Zoo, Bao Bao died in his enclosure on the morning of August 22, 2012 at the age of 34. The zookeepers had observed increasing physical decline in recent months, which was due to his old age. Bao Bao's body was examined to determine the exact cause of death: Bao Bao, who had suffered from cataracts since 2010 and became increasingly hard of hearing, died according to the autopsy findings as a result of malignant tumors of the testicles and chest wall and a bacterial kidney infection. His skeleton specimen is exhibited next to a dermoplasty of his fur in the Natural History Museum in Berlin .

Overview: Pandas in Berlin

The following table gives an overview of the giant pandas kept in zoological facilities in the city of Berlin.

Surname Life dates gender Facility Time in Berlin
Happy September 1935 - March 10, 1946 male zoo 1939 (63 days)
Chi Chi 1955 (?) - July 22, 1972 Female Animal park 2nd to 26th August 1958
Tjen Tjen (?) - February 8, 1984 Female zoo November 5, 1980 - February 8, 1984
Bao Bao 1978 - August 22, 2012 male zoo November 5, 1980 - August 22, 2012
Yan Yan 1985 - March 26, 2007 Female zoo April 14, 1995 - March 26, 2007
Meng Meng born July 10, 2013 Female zoo since June 23, 2017
Jiao Qing born July 15, 2010 male zoo since June 23, 2017
Meng Xiang born August 31, 2019 male zoo Born in the Berlin Zoo
Meng Yuan born August 31, 2019 male zoo Born in the Berlin Zoo

literature

Web links

Commons : Bao Bao  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Zoo Berlin: Bao Bao in pictures

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b cf. Lerch, Peter: Sweet soup for the single . In: the daily newspaper , January 30, 1995, p. 24
  2. ↑ a b cf. Big station for the Berlin panda bears . In: Berliner Morgenpost, November 6, 1980, p. 3
  3. ↑ cf. "Chi-Chi", "Bao-Bao" and "Tjen-Tjen" - Chinese bamboo bears in Berlin , p. 107. In: Blaszkiewitz, Bernhard: Knautschke, Knut & Co.: The Berliners' favorite animals from the zoo and zoo . Berlin: Lehmanns Media, 2009. - ISBN 978-3-86541-264-5
  4. ↑ a b cf. Viereck, Stefanie von: Himmelchens Ende . In: Die Zeit , February 17, 1984, No. 08
  5. ↑ cf. Portrait on the official website of the Berlin Zoo
  6. ↑ a b cf. City guide: the panda bear . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 8, 1995
  7. ↑ cf. "Chi-Chi", "Bao-Bao" and "Tjen-Tjen" - Chinese bamboo bears in Berlin , p. 112. In: Blaszkiewiz, Bernhard: Knautschke, Knut & Co.: The Berliners' favorite animals from the zoo and zoo . Berlin: Lehmanns Media, 2009. - ISBN 978-3-86541-264-5
  8. ↑ Marcel Gäding: Pandas remain childless. The sweetie and the cute one. In: Berliner Zeitung . May 18, 2005, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  9. ↑ cf. Plarre, Plutonia; Prösser, Claudius: Knut releases hormones in everyone . In: the daily newspaper, April 2, 2007, Berlin, p. 28
  10. ↑ a b c cf. Winkler, Willi: Bear and give birth . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, December 18, 1999, Berlin page, p. 11
  11. ↑ a b c Brenda Strohmaier: Yan Yan is finally pregnant - panda bear received sperm donation. In: Berliner Zeitung . April 1, 2004, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  12. ↑ a b cf. Heun, Sylke: Chances of a baby panda? Yan Yan inseminated again . In: Die Welt , May 3, 2004
  13. ↑ cf. The death of the sad panda bear . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 28, 2007, Panorama, p. 9
  14. ↑ cf. Bao Bao does not mourn… . Basic ddp service , March 27, 2007, 3:20 PM GMT
  15. ^ A b Concern for the future of panda bear Yan Yan. In: The world . August 7, 2006, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  16. ↑ cf. Industrialist wife helps Panda Yan Yan . In: Berliner Kurier, June 1, 2002, Issue 146, Local, p. 12
  17. ↑ a b cf. Beckmann, Christa: The panda bear Yan Yan died as a surprise to everyone . In: Berliner Morgenpost , March 27, 2007, issue 85/2007, Stadtleben, p. 13
  18. ↑ Berlin Zoo wants young pandas. In: The world . November 2, 2006, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  19. ↑ Claudia Fuchs: Yan Yan died of heart failure. In: Berliner Zeitung . March 28, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2012 .
  20. ^ Bernhard Bartsch: Chocolate and Beer. In: Berliner Zeitung . April 3, 2007, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  21. ↑ cf. Boyes, Roger: Darling! You've sailed back to me . In: The Times (London), Overseas News, p. 54
  22. ↑ cf. Has the Knut craze killed off zoo's precious panda? . In: Daily Mail (London), March 28, 2007, ED 1ST, p. 13
  23. ↑ cf. How much dignity does a panda have? Yan Yan in the cold store for months . In: Berliner Kurier , January 14, 2008, Issue 13, p. 12
  24. ↑ cf. Richter, Christiane: Hall discussions . In: Berliner Zeitung, April 7, 2007, Issue 8, Local, p. 21
  25. ↑ cf. Hintzmann, Karsten: CDU parliamentary group leader is promoting Panda and direct flights in China . In: Die Welt, April 17, 2007, issue 89/2007, Berlin, p. 34
  26. ↑ Is Berlin getting a new panda? In: The world . September 13, 2007, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  27. ↑ cf. Kröck, Susanne: After Yan Yan's death: How fit is Bao Bao? . In: Berliner Kurier , March 29, 2007, issue 87, Berlin, p. 13
  28. ↑ Claudia Fuchs: Grandpa Geier and Grandma Rhino. Bao Bao, giant panda. In: Berliner Zeitung . March 10, 2009, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  29. ↑ Claudia Fuchs: The cute one is dead. In: Berliner Zeitung . March 7, 2007, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  30. ↑ cf. The year of the bear . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung, January 9, 1995, features section
  31. ↑ cf. Büscher, Wolfgang; Heun, Sylke: Become a sponsor! . In: Berliner Morgenpost , February 8, 2004, issue 38/2004, BIZ, p. 2
  32. ↑ cf. Lutz Störmer is retiring  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at rbb-online.de (accessed on May 3, 2009)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.rbb-online.de  
  33. ↑ cf. AE: Having been in Berlin for 25 years: what does ... Bao Bao panda bear? . In: the daily newspaper, November 1, 2005, Berlin Aktuell, p. 22
  34. ↑ Anja Struve: Berliner Panda is starting to catch up. In: The world . July 8, 1999, accessed July 24, 2012 .
  35. ↑ cf. And otherwise? . In: the daily newspaper, June 9, 2008, p. 22
  36. ↑ Death: Panda bear Bao Bao died in the Berlin Zoo at morgenpost.de, August 22, 2012 (accessed on August 22, 2012).
  37. ↑ Section findings: Panda Bao Bao was so sick when he died at bz-berlin.de, June 4, 2013 (accessed October 8, 2013).