For many of us, looking at videos of cute baby animals is the best way to destress in a time when a pandemic continues to rage.
Well, if that’s also the case for you, look no further than the panda cub born to proud new parents, the giant pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia.
Helping Kai Kai Along in the Mating Process… for the Seventh Time!
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Kai Kai and Jia Jia, who are on a 10-year loan from China, entered their seventh mating season back in April of last year.
They have tried and failed to conceive since 2015, but this time around, the staffers at the Singapore Zoological Gardens and River Safari had pinned down what are the real issues here…
Firstly, Kai Kai is very easily distracted by food, and secondly, he has little idea on how to “do the deed” despite having no issue whatsoever with his “equipment”.
To help, the panda keepers have swapped the pandas enclosures so that they can pick up the “in heat scent” and they introduced suitable Panda p… I mean… action movies to Kai Kai to “help him get the idea”.
The keepers exercised Kai Kai’s hind legs as well to improve his stamina so as to complete the mating process.
Of course, the couple was also given complete privacy to go at it.
As to maximize the short mating window, the keepers had artificially inseminated Jia Jia with Kai Kai’s swimmers prior to the mating season too.
This time around, their efforts finally paid off!
Welcoming the First Giant Panda Cub
Weighing 200g, the first panda cub born to proud new parents, the giant pandas, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, was safely delivered on 7:50am at the Singapore Zoo on 14 August this year.
At the moment, it is kept in an off-exhibit enclosure with its mum so they could nurse and bond.
The newborn cub will stay in Singapore until it is mature, at around two years old.
Once that milestone’s is reached, the cub will then be sent back to China as per the agreement with China’s Wildlife Conservation Association.
However, before that bittersweet departure, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) has a few events scheduled for the nation.
For starters, they decided to organize a “gender reveal” in around four to six weeks’ time.
In the meantime, the Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin is looking to Singaporeans’ creativity to come up with the perfect name for the newborn.
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Among the suggestions, including those “troll names” which no one in their right minds would take seriously, there are a few really good ones.
Like, “Panda Miss Joaquim” which is a word play on our national flower, the orchid Vanda Miss Joaquim; “Xin Xin” that was inspired by the Mandarin name for Singapore; and “Qi Qi” which simply means “seven”, giving a nod to the panda cub’s auspicious birth date – the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
Be sure to keep those suggestions coming as there’s still time before the cub will be named.
The WRS is also currently trying to extend Kai Kai and Jia Jia’s stay.
The newborn cub will also be placed in an exhibit once it can move more steadily and have better honed motor control skills, likely at around four months of age.
That being said, if you can’t wait to squeal over how adorable the baby panda is, you can watch them on WRS’ YouTube channel where sneak peeks and other videos are uploaded.
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Featured Image: Instagram (chuanjin1)