For the last few weeks, I’ve been utterly troubled over one particular question.
“What…?” I would mumble to myself in between toilet breaks. “What…?”
I knew it was unhealthy, but I couldn’t stop myself. Not even my mother’s tears woke me up from my daze.
“What must I do?” she would weep in exasperation.
Day after day, I would ponder over this particular question. And yet it wasn’t until today that I finally got the “Eureka!” moment.
“What on earth is the cub’s gender?”
Jia Jia & Kai Kai Giant Panda’s Cub is Confirmed to be Male
Lest you’ve been living under a rock, you would surely be aware of the most popular baby birth in recent times: the cub of our own Kai Kai and Jia Jia.
But here’s the thing; what’s the gender of the new cub?
Well, after a “series of visual assessments”, as well as confirmation from the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda, the all-important question has finally been answered.
It’s a male.
Yes folks, the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) managed to identify external male genitalia on the cub.
“The close relationship between Jia Jia and her carers has allowed them to observe the cub at close range, enabling them to confirm the presence of external male genitalia,” WRS said in a media release.
How Are Mother And Son Doing?
WRS has unveiled that the cub is “doing well and steadily growing day by day.”
It has even begun to grow the trademark black markings around its ears, eyes and body!
Meanwhile, Jia Jia has steadily regained its appetite, and is said to be adapting to her new roles as a mother well.
“Jia Jia continues to grow in her role as a new mother and has exceeded all expectations in caring for her cub. As such, 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,” said Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, WRS’ deputy chief executive officer and chief life sciences officer.
“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 the cub for veterinary checks when the time is right.”
Naming
Keen to leave your mark on Singapore’s history?
Well, you can now.
From now on, everyone can submit suggestions for the cub’s name on the WRS website.
Keep in mind, however, that names should have positive meanings.
“Names should be catchy and easy to remember, while reflecting characters with positive meanings or attributes, have relevance to Singapore heritage and culture as well as significance to the friendship between Singapore and China,” WRS said.
Sigh. I guess the name “BigBabyPanda69” is a no go huh?
But hey, on a serious note, your name could just be accepted. Apparently, there will be a public voting system in place for the best name.
“Shortlisted names will be released for public voting, and the panda cub will take the name with the most number of votes,” WRS said.
So really, what’re you waiting for?
Get your submissions ready!
Do take note that the cut-off timing for the submission is 11:59 pm on 19 September 2021.
Meanwhile, here’s more context on the cub. He was born on the morning of 15 August 2021, at around 7:40 am.
Kai Kai and Jia Jia had actually embarked on a mission to reproduce since 2015. And whenever their mating season started on April, it’ll become headline news, but alas; for the last few years, they hadn’t been successful.
In April 2021, however, 13-year-old Kai Kai and 12-year-old Jia Jia displayed signs of being in heat, officially entering their seventh breeding season.
Working closely with the China Conservation and Research Centre for Giant Panda (CCRCGP), WRS’ animal care team initiated the breeding plan for 2021, emphasising natural mating with assisted reproductive technology as back up if required.
There was optimism that the pandas would naturally breed this year, after the pair had shown improvements in their mating techniques the year before.
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Featured Image: Instagram (chuanjin1)