The journey of the giant panda ‘Grandma’ (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) from China to Britain in 1938–1939

The giant panda ‘Grandma’, so named by her captor, an American named Floyd Tangier-Smith, was in the cohort of the first living pandas to arrive on British soil in December 1938. Trapped near Chengdu, in the mountains of Sichuan, China in 1938, the giant pandas were taken overland by Floyd Tangier-Smith's wife, Elizabeth, to Hong Kong and thence by ship to London. Grandma survived for 17 days in London. After her death, her remains were distributed around the country and were responsible for furthering understanding of giant panda anatomy. It is believed that the giant panda mount held by Leeds Museums and Galleries is that of ‘Grandma’.