Zoo preps for China pandas

Singapore Zoo preps for China pandas

Singapore is preparing to welcome two pandas from China in August next year.

On loan for a 10-year period, they will go on display at the River Safari attraction at the Singapore Zoo.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which owns the attraction, also intends to start a breeding programme of the endangered species.

Two-year-old Hu Bao is playful and affectionate, while three-year-old Wujie is strong and stable.

They are the two panda cubs that will be making Singapore home next year.

Currently staying at Bifengxia Panda Base, zoo keepers are preparing them for their move.

"They are very healthy and in excellent condition. Both are lively and vigorous. Our main goal now is to ensure they grow healthier. This is a critical period for their growth and development as they are in their adolescence," said Le De Sheng, deputy director of the National Nature Reserve Wuolong in Sichuan Province.

They are still on a diet of milk, steamed bread roll and bamboo, but will eventually be weaned off milk.

Pandas are notoriously known to be fussy eaters - there are about 40 different types of bamboo for them to choose from.

And the pair appear to have acquired a taste for Singapore cuisine.

"Singapore has sent some sample bamboo to us. The pandas had a 'food-tasting' and accepted the bamboos," said Huang Shan, a zoo keeper at Bifengxia Panda Base.

The Singapore Zoo will be planting an 8,000-square metre of bamboo plantation just for the pandas.

Besides diet, pandas are also sensitive to climate and environment.

"Singapore is hotter than Sichuan, so our main task now is helping them adapt. The best solution is for Singapore to make adjustments. Giant pandas live in temperatures lower than 25 degrees Celsius," said Huang.

With that in mind, Wildlife Reserves Singapore is building a climate-controlled enclosure that will closely simulate the panda's natural habitat.

It is also planning to start a breeding programme of the endangered species.

And Chinese zoo keepers are confident the pandas will mate, although they have yet to meet.

-News courtesy of Channel Newsasia-