The birthdays of the twin brothers “Jian Jian” and “Kang Kang” and the mother “Xin Xin” of the Happy Family of giant pandas are on 26 June and 5 July respectively. The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) specially made delicate ice cakes and invited about 40 teachers and students from Escola Oficial de Seac Pai Van to celebrate their birthdays on the days. Through the celebration activities, IAM not only hopes to increase the public’s understanding of giant pandas, but also to enable them to establish a deep emotional connection with the animals and raise their awareness of animal conservation.
The keepers specially offered delicate and cool ice cakes to the Happy Family of giant pandas. The ice cakes were mainly made of ice, along with apples, pumpkins, carrots and other vegetables and fruits, and embellished with high-fibre biscuits. Being both delicious and healthy, the cakes were treats for the Happy Family to relieve the summer heat. The teachers and students also created birthday cards to send their blessings to the giant pandas.
The weather is hot in Macao as it enters summer. To prevent the giant pandas from heat stroke, IAM has arranged for them to stay in the air-conditioned indoor venues in the Macao Giant Panda Pavilion for activities since May. The four giant pandas currently take turns to use the two activity sites, so the public can only visit two giant pandas each time when they visit the pavilion. In addition, to ensure the sufficient nutrition intake of the giant pandas, the nursing team adjusts the menu timely and provides the giant pandas with bamboo shoots, different kinds of bamboos and other seasonal food according to the season and the taste preferences of the giant pandas.
With the attentive care of the nursing team, the members of the Happy Family are all in good health conditions. “Kai Kai” is now 15 years old and weighs 117 kg, while “Xin Xin” is 16 years old and 127 kg in weight. The 7-year-old “Jian Jian” and “Kang Kang” weigh 130 kg and 110 kg respectively. Under captive circumstances, the lifespan of giant pandas generally ranges from 20 to 30 years old. Divided by the age of giant pandas, those between 5 and 20 years old are in adulthood, and the ones above 20 years old are in the aging period. To cope with the changes in physical conditions that may occur with increasing age, during raising routines, the nursing team constantly monitors the physical conditions of the giant pandas through blood pressure measurement, blood tests, X-ray, palpation inspection and other methods, in addition to observing the mental conditions, appetite and stool quality of the giant pandas, so as to timely adopt necessary treatment measures.
People who want to learn more about the members of the Happy Family of giant pandas can visit the Macao Giant Panda Pavilion in person, or browse the Macao Giant Panda website https://macaupanda.iam.gov.mo/ to know about their latest news and the knowledge about conservation of giant pandas.
