Tohui
| Sex | Female |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 July 1981 Chapultepec Zoo, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | 16 November 1993 (aged 12) |
| Cause of death | Illnesses |
| Resting place | Chapultepec Zoo garden |
| Known for | First giant panda outside of China to reach adulthood |
| Parents |
|
| Mate | Chia Chia |
| Offspring | Xin Xin |
Tohui or Towi (21 July 1981 – 16 November 1993) was the second giant panda to be born in captivity outside of China, and the first overseas-born giant panda to survive into adulthood. She became a cultural icon in Mexico.
She was the second-born offspring of Ying Ying and Pe Pe; her older brother, Xen Li, was accidentally crushed to death by Ying Ying in her sleep when he was eight days old. After giving birth to a female cub named Xin Xin on 1 July 1990, Tohui developed multiple illnesses and infections that led to her death on 16 November 1993.
Early life and name
[edit]Tohui was born on 21 July 1981 at Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City.[1][2] She was the daughter of mother Ying Ying and father Pe Pe,[3] a pair of giant pandas gifted to Mexico by the Chinese government on 10 September 1975 as an act of panda diplomacy.[4] In 1980, the couple had their first offspring, Xen Li, who died eight days after birth after Ying Ying crushed him while she was sleeping.[3] Following Tohui's birth, she was isolated from her mother and cameras were installed to further prevent the accident from reoccurring.[3]
The name Tohui is from Tarahumara (the language of the Rarámuri) and means "(male) child". (Variants: tohui, toui, towi). When Tohui was born it was believed she was male, and the contrary was only learned after a contest for the name was held. The female equivalent is Tehuete.[3] The name was proposed by Parménides Orpinel, a boy from Guachochi, Chihuahua, and was chosen from thousands of submissions by a panel that included Cantinflas.[5] To celebrate her fifth birthday, the Banco de México minted a commemorative coin, where Tohui appeared in the arms of her mother, Ying Ying.[3]
Later life and death
[edit]Her presence at Chapultepec boosted the zoo's tourism; the line to visit her reached the monument of the Niños Héroes. Following her birth, the zoo started to receive considerably more financial support, enough to start its first veterinary hospital.[3] At the request of the then First Lady, Carmen Romano, a song called "El pequeño panda de Chapultepec" (lit. '"The little panda from Chapultepec"') was composed by Laura Gomez Llanos and performed by singer Yuri. The song went on to sell a million copies.[3]
On 1 July 1990, Tohui gave birth to a daughter named Xin Xin,[4] who was conceived naturally with a panda named Chia Chia from the London Zoo.[3][1] As of July 2025[update], Xin Xin is the only giant panda living in Latin America, and she never reproduced.[2][6]
Tohui died on 16 November 1993,[7] at the age of 12, due to a series of infections and illnesses that had affected her since she gave birth to Xin Xin. She was buried in Chapultepec Zoo's garden.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Giant Pandas from the past". Giant Panda HTML Planet. Archived from the original on 23 January 2007.
- 1 2 Yolanda, Laura (3 July 2025). "Xin Xin última panda mexicana cumplió 35 años" [Xin Xin, the last Mexican panda turned 35 years old]. Expreso (in Spanish).
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "A 30 años de Tohuí, el osito panda en Chapultepec" [30 years of Tohui, the panda bear in Chapultepec] (in Spanish). Excélsior. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
- 1 2 Loredo, Ana (1 July 2024). "Xin Xin festeja su cumpleaños 34, nacida de la diplomacia del panda entre México-China" [Xin Xin celebrates her 34th birthday, she was born from the panda diplomacy between Mexico and China] (in Spanish). Debate.
- ↑ Cohen, Viviana (7 June 2017). "La fascinante historia de Tohuí, el panda que nació en Chapultepec" [The Fascinating History of Tohui, the Panda Born in Chapultepec]. MXCity (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ↑ Strochlic, Nina (29 March 2023). "Meet Mexico's 'forgotten panda.' She's the last of her kind". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
- ↑ "¿Sabes dónde se encuentran los únicos osos panda del mundo que no son de China?" [Do you know where you can find the only pandas in the world that are not in China?]. Notimérica (in Spanish). 29 May 2018.
- ↑ "Panda Dies at Mexico Zoo after Illness". Deseret News. Associated Press. 17 November 1993.
