Mei Lan
Mei Lan was born on September 6, 2006 at Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. She has studbook number 649. Her name means “Atlanta Beauty” in Chinese. Her parents Lun Lun & Yang Yang were born at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China. They are on a breeding loan from China to the United States of America. They arrived at Zoo Atlanta on November 5, 1999. Mei Lan is their first offspring and the first panda cub born in Atlanta. She soon became the biggest star of the zoo. She has a little brother Xi Lan, who was born on August 30, 2008. Mei Lan has a very round and fluffy face like her mother Lun Lun. I visited Mei Lan in Atlanta in October 2007 and in October 2009. Everybody was very sad when she left her birth town Atlanta on February 4, 2010. She moved to her parents native country China, to participate in the giant panda breeding program. At her new home, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding she lives at the No.2 Enclosure. This beautiful building was constructed in 2008 and has 4 large outside display areas. At the moment it houses 5 giant pandas (Mei Lan, Long Bang, Xiong Bang, Shu Xiang & Qi Miao). Mei Lan was selected by WWF China as Earth Hour Global Ambassador. Earth Hour is a global action against climate change, asking people around the world to turn off their non-essential energy sources for one hour to decrease carbon dioxide emissions. Mei Lan is the first American born panda who returned to Chengdu. She is a healthy young female panda who is loved throughout the world. In Chengdu she is also famous for her slow movement. During my Pambassador weeks in Chengdu, I visited Mei Lan very often. I had the amazing chance to be very close to her inside the house, I even could feed her! She has a large and beautiful living space at the No.2 Enclosure and very friendly keepers. I know Mei Lan has many fans around the world and they all miss her very much! I was so happy to see her again and I can say to all her fans that she looked happy and that she is treated like a star. I believe “Atlanta Beauty” has a great future waiting for her in Chengdu…
In the next weeks I will give you updates on all the pandas in Chengdu and the enclosures they live in.
Grtz Pambassador Jeroen Jacobs
