Basi (; 1980 – September 13, 2017) was a female giant panda. She was the original model for "Panpan", the mascot for the 1990 Asian Games. She was named after the creek she was found in, the Basi Creek. After living for six months at the San Diego Zoo, where she performed acrobatics, she lived in Fuzhou for 33 years.
Basi's later life was marked by illnesses, including epilepsy and pancreatitis. Following her death at age 37, she was seen as a symbol of friendship and peace.
Life Basi was born in 1980 in Baoxing County, Sichuan. She was found unconscious on February 1, 1984, by farmer Li Xingyu in the Qionglai Mountains, and named after the creek she was found in, the Ba Si Creek. Three years later, she, along with another giant panda named Yuan Yuan, arrived at the San Diego Zoo. Basi stayed from July 1987 to February 1988 and performed acrobatics. Basi was the original model of "Panpan", the mascot for the 1990 Asian Games, and lived in Fuzhou for 33 years.
Later life, death and legacy Basi's health began declining in 2001, when she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Nine years later, she suffered from pancreatitis, and she also had epilepsy for over ten years. In 2015, Fuzhou Panda World celebrated her 35th birthday by awarding one of Basi's trainers from the San Diego Zoo, Georgeanne Irvine, the "Order of Basi" (). By June 2017, Basi was unable to eat normally and she had cirrhosis.
Basi died at 8:50am on September 13, 2017, at the age of 37, which is equivalent to either 108 or 114 human years, due to immune system complications. Following Jia Jia's death in 2016 at age 38, she was the oldest living panda in captivity.
Basi has been viewed as a symbol of peace and friendship across China. This attribution led to the Basi Public Welfare Alliance () being founded on December 5, 2024. The Straits Giant Panda Research and Exchange Center in Fuzhou held a memorial in her honor, and Panpan's name was used for Fujian's national brand, Panpan Food ().
See also List of giant pandas List of individual bears
References