Mei Xiang and Tian Tian are the Smithsonian's National Zoo's second pair of giant pandas. Both were born at the China Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda in Wolong, Sichuan Province.
Tian Tian (t-YEN t-YEN), the male, was born on Aug. 27, 1997. His name means "more and more."
Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), the female, was born on July 22, 1998. Her name means "beautiful fragrance."
It is hard to tell giant pandas apart, but Mei Xiang and Tian Tian do have different markings. Mei Xiang has black "stockings." The black band across her shoulders is wider in the middle, and she has a pale black bar across the bridge of her nose. Tian Tian has black "knee socks." The black band across his shoulders narrows in the middle. And he has two black dots across the bridge of his nose.
Under an agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, both giant pandas are on a 10-year loan to the National Zoo, where they will be the focus of an ambitious panda research, conservation and breeding program designed to preserve this endangered species--only about 1,000 giant pandas survive in the mountain forests of central China. Another 120 are in Chinese breeding facilities and zoos, and about 20 live in zoos outside China.
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