Giant panda cub turns 100 days old, expected to join public exhibit early next year
SINGAPORE - The Republic's first giant panda cub may welcome his fans soon as the tiny tot takes his first steps at the River Safari and will cross his 100-day milestone on Nov 21. Guests can look forward to catching sneak peeks of the cub at the Giant Panda Forest exhibit over the coming weeks before he joins his mother in her public exhibit early next year. Weighing a little over 6kg - 30 times his body weight when he was born - and measuring 67cm, the cub has been showing off his crawl-walking skills to his handlers. In a statement on Friday (Nov 19), Mandai Wildlife Group (MWG) said the cub's mother Jia Jia "has made great strides in providing exemplary care and protection for her newborn" during the first few months of his life. The panda cub's name will be jointly revealed by Singapore and China next month. MWG thanked the public for helping with naming the new cub, after it received more than 64,000 suggestions. Giant panda cub nears 100th day, takes first steps MWG chief executive Mike Barclay said: "Together with our panda care team, we are overjoyed to be approaching the 100th day since Jia Jia gave birth to our little miracle cub at River Wonders. We are honoured to have...
Giant panda cub gets new teeth at 2 months old, may start eating bamboo earlier than expected
SINGAPORE - The Republic's first giant panda cub might be chomping on bamboo soon, with the little one sporting six teeth now. Carers of the 56-day-old cub spotted the first four teeth in its lower jaw on Sept 23, with two more emerging 10 days later. The appearance of teeth at around two months is earlier than expected as baby pandas usually start teething when they are about three months old, said Wildlife Reserves Singapore in a statement on Friday (Oct 8). The cubs normally start attempting to chew on bamboo at the age of about seven months. The male firstborn of River Safari residents Kai Kai and Jia Jia is also growing fast, gaining nearly 0.5kg in only one week to weigh in at just over 3kg currently. The cub, which is yet to be named, measured 51.5cm from head to tail on Oct 6, the first time that its length was recorded. Kai Kai, 14, and Jia Jia, 13, arrived in Singapore from China in 2012 under a 10-year loan from the Chinese authorities. They began mating in 2015 but had failed to conceive over the years. Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, in part due to the narrow window for conception. The long-awaited birth on Aug 14 came after the giant pand...
First giant panda cub born in S’pore is a boy; public can submit names until Sept 19
SINGAPORE - The first-ever cub born in Singapore to giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia is a healthy baby boy. The panda cub was born on Aug 14 at the River Safari after seven attempts by its parents to conceive. Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) said on Friday (Sept 10) that its panda care team determined the cub's gender through a series of visual assessments. The WRS team, led by animal care officer Trisha Tay Ting Ni, subsequently confirmed that the baby panda was male after consulting a team of experts from the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda (CCRCGP). The CCRCGP experts examined a series of photos and videos that were shared by the WRS panda care team and gave their feedback. Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, deputy chief executive officer and chief life sciences officer at WRS, said the cub's mother, 12-year-old Jia Jia, has exceeded all expectations in caring for her cub. Dr Cheng said: "The panda care team has decided to allow this period of maternal care to continue for as long as possible for the duo to strengthen their bond. While supporting Jia Jia's care of the cub, we were able to determine the cub's gender through close visual observation and will only retrieve...
Xin Xin and Le Le among names suggested by ST readers for first panda cub born in S’pore
SINGAPORE - Xin Xin and Le Le are among the popular names suggested by netizens for the first panda cub to be born in Singapore. The Straits Times asked on Facebook for suggestions of a name for the newborn panda, and netizens responded. Xin Xin refers to heart in Mandarin, or alludes to Singapore. Some netizens also spelt it as Xing Xing or Sing Sing, which would mean stars. Le Le refers to joy. Said Facebook user Yvonne Chua: "Since the mum's name starts with 'J' and the dad's name 'K', their junior (should) start with 'L'." The panda cub was born to parents Kai Kai and Jia Jia at the River Safari at about 7.50am on Saturday (Aug 14). Other name suggestions included Xi Wang (hope in Mandarin), An An (peace) and Kang Kang (health). En En, which refers to gratitude in Mandarin, was another idea. Facebook user Celia Chong, who suggested it, said: “Gratitude to the animal care team that helped Jia Jia during (her) pregnancy period in Singapore.” Qi Qi, referring to the number seven in Mandarin, was suggested by Facebook user Derek Lee, who pointed out that the cub was born on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. It also happened to be during the giant pandas' s...
Singapore gets first panda cub, born to Kai Kai and Jia Jia at River Safari
SINGAPORE - The nation’s first panda cub was born on Saturday (Aug 14) at the River Safari at about 7.50am, to parents Kai Kai and Jia Jia. In a statement on Sunday, Wildlife Reserves Singapore called the birth "a joyful boost to the ongoing National Day celebrations this year", adding that the panda cub's gender is yet to be determined and will be announced later. Meanwhile, mother Jia Jia and her cub are in an off-exhibit den to give them time to nurse and bond, it said. The successful birth comes after the giant pandas’ seventh breeding season. They began mating in 2015. Giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, in part due to the narrow window for conception. Females like Jia Jia ovulate only once a year, and her fertility also peaks for just 24 to 36 hours. WRS said 13-year-old Kai Kai and 12-year-old Jia Jia displayed signs of being in heat in April this year. It added that its animal care team was optimistic that the pandas would naturally breed this year, as the pair had shown improvements in their mating techniques the year before. Experts from the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda (CCRCGP)advised WRS vets to perform artificial inse...