New panda cubs make their first appearance


Updated: 2006-04-11 10:33

Three newly arrived male panda cubs made their official debut on Saturday at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, a week after leaving Sichuan Province. Their biggest need - air conditioning.

New panda cubs make their first appearance

They appeared at Panda Square around 11am, a space of 1,500 square meters, which is set up just for the pandas.

Crowds, including foreign visitors, gathered around.

"This is my first time to see pandas. They're so healthy and so cute," said Lydia Yermakova from Ukraine. She and her family visited the park over the weekend.

The cubs are getting used to living in Shanghai. But the three are a bit overwhelmed by the warm weather, according to Xu Yalin, the attendant who accompanied the pandas from Sichuan Wolong Panda Protection Research Center.

The average temperature is 8 degrees Celsius these days in Wolong, while the temperature here surged to 28.4 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

New panda cubs make their first appearance

"I'm a bit worried about higher summer temperatures in Shanghai for the pandas," said Xu, who has been caring for the cubs for two years in Wolong panda center.

Xu said when summer arrives, the pandas might only be allowed outside during the cooler dawn and sunset periods; they will be kept in an air-conditioned exhibition room for most of the time.

Pandas need a well-diet. Now the cubs are fed milk, bamboo, whole grains, and vitamins daily. "Whole grains help digestion, and vitamins should prevent sickness," said Xu.

New panda cubs make their first appearance

With the Shanghai 2010 World Expo approaching, the pandas will join the mascot selection process, according to park officials.

Late year, there were 183 giant pandas living in captivity in the country.

It is estimated that there are about 1,500 giant pandas living in captivity and the wild in China. About 70 percent of the county's panda population lives in the Wolong panda center.



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