Short term loan

In 1981, a couple of giant pandas was on a short term loan to the Kobe Oji Zoo. Zhai Zhai (male) & Rong Rong (female) appeared at the opening festivities of Kobe’s Portopia.

Ko Ko I

Ko Ko (female) was born on August 12, 1996 at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Wolong.

She has studbook number 437.
Her birth name given in China was Jin Zhu.

Her mother is Yong Ba (397) and her father is Pan Pan (308).

She came to the Kobe Oji Zoo on July 16, 2000 with Tan Tan.

They came to Kobe on a 10 year breeding loan.

On December 5, 2002, Ko Ko I was sent back to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Wolong because of his lack of reproductive tendences. In China they discovered “he” was a female…

She was transferred to the Ya’an Bifengxia Base of CCRCGP on October 22, 2003 and returned to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Wolong on December 5, 2004

She moved to the Ya’an Bifengxia Base of CCRCGP on January 16, 2007.

On August 6, 2007 she gave birth to twin cubs Jin Xin (672) & Jin Yi (673).

The pictures of Ko Ko I are made by Hideyasu Kanemitsu.

Ko Ko II

Ko Ko (male) was born on September 14, 1995 at the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Wolong.

He has studbook number 433.
His birth name given in China was Long Long.

Ko Ko means recovery (“fukko”) from the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, which wreaked havoc on the port city. The city of Kobe decided to name him Ko Ko when he arrived in Kobe because the “original” Ko Ko took his birth name of Jin Zhu back when he returned to China.

His mother is Jia Jia (230) and his father is Pan Pan (308).

He came to the Kobe Oji Zoo on December 9, 2002.

Ko Ko is the father to the cubs who were born at the Kobe Oji Zoo in 2007 and in 2008.

Ko Ko died on September 9, 2010. His heart stopped while he was under anesthesia for AI…

Cub 2007

On August 12, 2007 Tan Tan gave birth to a stillborn cub

He has studbook number 677.
His mother is Tan Tan (434) and his father is Ko Ko (433).

Cub 2008

On August 26, 2008 Tan Tan gave birth to a cub.

It was worldwide news, the first cub born in Japan after artificial insimination in 20 years. But the cub died on August 29, 2008… 

His mother is Tan Tan (434) and his father is Ko Ko (433).