Tian Tian, which means 'more & more', is a panda who lives up to his name. He has a ferocious appetite along with an appetite for attention. He was born at the Panda Research Center in Wolong, August 27, 1997. From what I have heard, his adorable face with his characteristic droopy eye patches garnered him alot of attention as a cub there providing Wolong with a poster child of sorts.
He came to the National Zoo in Washington D.C., along with his partner, Mei Xiang on December 6, 2000. You can usually find him in the first yard either eating or crashed out in his cooled 'panda cave'.
He absolutely loves his partner Mei (photo second to the bottom) and will constantly pursue her attentions when they are put together. He has tried his darnest in helping Mei to produce a cub by natural mating, but it just hasn't worked out yet for them, but he can be proud of his son, Tai Shan , pictured at the bottom, who just recently turned 3 years old, born through artificial insemination using Tian's sperm.
Happy Birthday, big guy, we love you and don't give up trying to have a cub the natural way. Thanks to RoxandaBear of flickr for these wonderful photos that they just recently took at the NZ.
