Chapultepec Zoo is a Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 located in Chapultepec

Chapultepec

Chapultepec Park, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" in Mexico City, is the largest city park in Latin America, measuring in total just over 686 hectares. Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is to be an ecological space in the vast...

; it is one of four zoos near Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, and the best known Mexican zoo. It was founded 6 July 1923 by Mexican biologist

Biologist

A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...

 Alfonso Luis Herrera using donations from private citizens and governmental funds from the Ministry of Agriculture and Development, and also with funds from the Society of Biological Studies. The zoo is rather popular after a recent renovation begun in 1992 which took two years; estimates of its popularity range from 5.5 million visitors per year to as much as 8 million, who all come to see its large collection of over 2000 animals from more 200 different species. Its current directors are Dr. Gerardo Tapia and Dr. José Bernal Stoopen.

Giant Pandas

The Zoo especially is famous for its three female Giant Panda

Giant Panda

The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...

s, Xiu Hua, Shuan Shuan and Xin Xin.

• Pe Pe and Ying Ying were a mated pair of Giant Pandas donated to the Zoo by the Chinese government in September 1975. They both died in 1989.
• Xengli was born on August 1980, but died after just 9 days.
• Tohui was born on July 21, 1981. She became a 'star', even having her own song, 'El Pequeño Panda de Chapultepec' (The Little Panda from Chapultepec) performed by Mexican singer Yuri.
• Liang Liang was born 22 June 1983.
• Xiu Hua was born in the Zoo on 25 June 1985; her parents were Ying Ying (mother) and Pe Pe (father).
• Shuan Shuan was born in the Zoo on 15 June 1987. She is a sibling to Xiu Hua.
• Xin Xin ("hope" in Chinese) was conceived via artificial insemination
  Artificial insemination
  Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
  
   and was born in the Zoo on 1 July 1990. Her mother is Tohui (she died 16 November 1993) and her father is Chia Chia from the London Zoo
  London Zoo
  London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for scientific study. It was eventually opened to the public in 1847...
  
  .