Aug 6, 2017
Lotte Jacobi, The first panda in the U.S. was brought from China by Ruth Harkess, pictured above cradling panda cub Su-Lin, 1936.
Ruth Harkness was a socialite and clothing designer. When her wealthy husband died while in Tibet looking for a giant panda to bring back to the U.S., Ruth flew over for the funeral and decided to finish the expedition herself. In just a few months, she'd succeeded.
The Brookfield Zoo in Chicago bought the panda cub for just under $9,000 and Su-Lin—which translates to "a little bit of something very cute"—attracted more visitors than any other animal ever. Su-Lin died a year later.
Published in "Secrets of the Wild Panda" by George B. Schaller in the March 1986 issue of National Geographic.
