Giant panda exhibits at the San Diego Zoo

From 1996 until 2019 the San Diego Zoo hosted giant pandas on loan from China, producing widely circulated photos and videos of pandas and panda cubs that became popular online. The 2012 birth of panda cub Xiao Liwu at the San Diego Zoo received broad media coverage and generated numerous viral images and social posts. The zoo's panda program is a documented source of popular animal imagery and internet-sharing associated with San Diego.