South Korean-born panda makes debut in Sichuan

After more than two months of quarantine and transitional adjustment, giant panda Fu Bao will meet the public this week at the Wolong Shenshuping base of the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center in Sichuan Province.

The female panda will make her debut at the base on Wednesday and will be seen regularly thereafter. Base staff advise visitors to arrange their travel carefully to avoid large crowds.

Fu Bao left Samsung Everland Park in South Korea and arrived in China in early April, where she was quarantined at the base. She has adapted well to her new environment and has built up trust with her caregivers, according to the giant panda center. After the quarantine, Fu Bao moved to the breeding area of ​​the base. A technical team developed a plan to help her transition to her new life through behavioral training, physical contact and communication with caregivers.

She also enjoys the food provided.

“After more than two months of adjustment, Fu Bao has adapted to the current season’s bamboo. She likes to eat bitter bamboo shoots, bitter bamboo leaves and white bamboo shoots,” said Xu Xiang, a goalkeeper at Wolong Shenshuping Base, adding that it delivers different types of bamboo for pandas in different seasons.

“We feed Fu Bao two to three types of bamboo daily for her to choose from, and we also feed her bamboo shoots. As for supplements, Fu Bao prefers apples and steamed buns,” he said.

In March 2016, the female giant panda Hua Ni, also known as Ai Bao, and the male giant panda Yuan of giant panda research. Fu Bao was born to the couple in the park in July 2020.

Under the agreement on research cooperation in giant panda conservation, foreign-born panda cubs between the ages of 2 and 4 will be sent to China.

The Giant Panda Research Center said that in the past eight years, China and South Korea have actively cooperated in giant panda breeding, disease prevention and control, public education and other scientific fields to promote and improve the conservation of the endangered species in both countries friendly relations between the Chinese and Korean people.

The keepers said that since Fu Bao’s arrival in China, he has gradually integrated into the local panda population through communication windows between enclosures and interaction with neighboring pandas through sounds and smells. Observations and assessments by the care team indicate that she is ready to meet the public.

Cheng Jianbin, an expert at the Wolong Shenshuping base, said a suitable enclosure had been selected for Fu Bao and given her enough time to adapt to the new environment. To ensure a smooth public release, the base has carried out tasks such as cleaning, disinfection, safety checks and security measures, with the aim of minimizing the potential stress that some pandas experience once they are put on public display. Taking into account factors such as park capacity and Fu Bao’s adjustment process, the base will limit the number of visitors on Wednesday.

A video blogger named Zhu has been permanently banned from visiting the Giant Panda Center bases because he was caught livestreaming from the Wolong Shenshuping base area after Fu Bao’s arrival, while broadcasting from non-exhibition areas such as the quarantine zone, office and research buildings, as well as the breeding area, ignoring notices from local authorities and violating regulations, the center said.