Generally speaking, there are two stages in naming giant pandas: the first stage is to choose a nickname.
After a giant panda cub is born, the breeder will give it a nickname to distinguish it from other individuals. The method is generally divided into four categories: First, twins are given "big" and "small", such as Giant panda "Jingjing" gave birth to male twins, the older brother is called "Jingda" and the younger brother is called "Jingxiao".
The second is the number for giving birth to multiple cubs. For example, the giant panda "Meng Meng" gave birth to 3 cubs, which are called "Meng Da", "Meng Er" and "Meng San" according to the time of birth. ". These two methods are the most commonly used to give baby names, consisting of the giant panda's mother's surname and simple symbolic text.
The third is to choose based on the characteristics of the giant panda cubs themselves, some based on appearance characteristics, and some combined with place names.
The last category is basically picked randomly by the staff, such as "bamboo shoots" and "edamame" etc.
After all, a nickname is just a nickname. The name that can be included in the internationally accepted giant panda genealogy is the official name of the giant panda. When a giant panda gets an official name, its original nickname will gradually fade away.
For example, the twin cubs of giant panda "Qing He" were named "Qing Da" and "Qing Xiao" respectively. After becoming the "first pair of animal ambassadors of the United Nations", they were officially named "Qing He" "Qi Qi" and "Dian Dian" were included in the giant panda family tree.
The current internationally accepted genealogy of giant pandas is a naming system for captive giant pandas with internationally unified numbers and unified writing standards. Each giant panda will be assigned a unique number, which is equivalent to our human ID number. The name corresponding to this number is the official name of the giant panda. There are relatively complete rules and requirements for giving formal names to giant pandas, which basically require the name to reflect the connection with its ethnic group, so that it can be tracked and identified in the relevant scientific research process.
The names included in the giant panda genealogy are named in a more formal way and have much greater influence. They can generally be classified into four categories. The first category is open solicitation. In 2012, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding publicly named a giant panda born on the first day of the Olympic Games that year, and the baby was eventually named "Olio".
The second category is official release. As envoys of friendship conveying the friendship between the Chinese people, China currently has 69 giant pandas living overseas. In 2017, the naming ceremony of the cub born to Chengdu giant panda Huanhuan was held in France. Nearly a thousand people from all walks of life in China and France attended the ceremony to name the cub "Yuanmeng".
The third category is public welfare naming. It can be named by an international organization or conservation agency and awarded as its image ambassador to promote the concept of conservation at home and abroad; it can be adopted by a company or individual for public welfare and obtain the right to name; it can also be invited to name.
The fourth category is to continue to use the nickname. For example, "cheese", "edamame", etc.