Bao Bao was a former giant panda at the Berlin Zoological Garden. He was given to West Germany as a gift in 1980 as part of China's "panda diplomacy". Bao Bao was only two years old when he first arrived in Germany with his female companion named Tian Tian. The panda pair quickly captured the hearts and minds of German people. Unfortunately, Tian Tian died four years later from illness without giving birth. Her death also left Bao Bao to live alone for the next six years. Between 1991 and 1993, Bao Bao was loaned to London zoo to be introduced to a female panda called Ming Ming in an unsuccessful attempt to mate him. In 1995, another female panda Yan Yan was sent by China to the Berlin Zoo. By then, Bao Bao already lost most of his reproduction desires. Bao Bao died in August 2012 at age 34, having lived one of the longest lives among all male pandas.