Star panda 'Heo Ye' turns out to be female... "Could Puba also be male?"

This year, the four-year-old Chinese star panda 'Heoye' has become a hot topic after it was belatedly revealed that she is female, not male.

Giant panda 'Heo Ye'.
[Photo by Social Networking Service (SNS)]

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On the 24th (local time), local media reported that the giant panda 'Heoye (和?)', belonging to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Institute in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, was determined to be female, not male. Heoye was born as a twin with 'Heohwa (和花)' in 2020 and has been loved by the Chinese people so much that she is called the 'national panda.'

At birth, Heoye was presumed to be male. The caretaker who has been looking after Heoye since she was young said, "When Heoye was just born, her gender seemed closer to male," adding, "Everyone was convinced she was male because of characteristics such as a large amount of urination, lively personality, and tall stature." However, as Heoye approached four years old, no additional male panda traits appeared, and suspicious, the Sichuan Panda Breeding Research Institute collected Heoye's DNA sample and conducted a belated gender test.

After Heoye was identified as female, the Chinese social networking service (SNS) saw the hashtag #HeoyeTransformsFromYoungerBrotherToYoungerSister trending high in search rankings, attracting great attention. Netizens who received the news responded with comments such as, "Investigations should be conducted on other pandas as well. There are too many pandas whose gender changes as they grow," "If we had known earlier, the twins wouldn't have had to live apart," and "Heoye must be quite embarrassed."

Because pandas do not show clear secondary sexual characteristics, it is difficult to determine their gender, and many cases occur where the previously known gender is reversed in the third year when sex hormones start to be produced. When the pandas 'Mingming' and 'Lili' first came to Korea in 1994, they were brought in as male and female for breeding purposes, but due to issues like the IMF crisis, they returned to China, where it was belatedly revealed that both pandas were female. Additionally, Heoye's father, Meiran, born at the Atlanta Zoo in the U.S. in September 2006, was once mistaken for a female panda, and Pupu, born in Chengdu in 2014, was thought to be female until 2018 but was identified as male through hormone testing in 2019.

Panda Pubao, born in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi, is gaining a lot of popularity.
[Photo by Everland]

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Korean netizens who received the news are reacting that 'Pubao (福寶)' also needs a DNA test. Previously, Pubao was born on July 20, 2020, as a female panda between 'Aibao (愛寶)' and 'Reobao (樂寶)', pandas sent from China in March 2016 as a symbol of Korea-China friendship. Netizens commented, "Pubao often walks on two legs," "Pubao is even chubbier than male pandas; what if she is actually male?" and "Maybe Pubao is male after all."

Meanwhile, according to the Convention on the Conservation of Endangered Species, pandas are repatriated to China before they turn four years old to mate with other pandas. Everland announced on the 23rd through its website and SNS channels that Pubao will be moved to the 'Giant Panda Conservation Research Center' in Sichuan Province, China, in early April. Due to international regulations on wildlife, Pubao will be managed in a separate space within Panda World for one month before moving, so it is expected that Pubao can be seen at Everland only until early March. An official stated, "We plan to announce detailed schedules such as the return date once the flight Pubao will take is confirmed."

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