Gao Gao had a difficult beginning. An injured young Gao Gao (pronounced gow-gow) was found in March 1993, dehydrated and with the left side of his head bloody where nearly two-thirds of his ear had been torn away. He was taken to China’s nearby Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve and nursed back to health. He came to the San Diego Zoo on January 15, 2003.