Panda pair doing well at Hong Kong home as they are adjusting to their new environment and are currently in a quarantine period.
A week has passed since the arrival of a new panda pair in Hong Kong, and the two pandas, gifted by the central government to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), are adjusting well to their new home at Ocean Park.
The pandas are currently in a 30-day quarantine period. After that, they will need about a month to acclimate to another environment before being introduced to the public, which is expected to happen in December at the earliest, according to park officials.
Video clips from Ocean Park show the male panda, An An, energetically playing and eating bamboo, while the female panda, Ke Ke, is more subdued, quietly enjoying her carrots.
Matt Leung, assistant curator of Ocean Park’s animal care team, shared that An An is adventurous and open to new experiences, while Ke Ke is more reserved and cautious, curious about sounds. Leung visited the pandas’ hometown in Sichuan in mid-July to bond with them.
A naming campaign for the two pandas began on Wednesday across Hong Kong and will continue until the end of the month.
The pandas are fed four meals a day, similar to their diet in Sichuan, and they are gradually adjusting to bamboo from Guangdong province.
According to Howard Chuk Hau-chung, head of zoological operations and conservation at Ocean Park, both pandas are in stable condition with normal appetite and behavior. The care team and veterinarians are closely monitoring their food intake and bowel movements.
Veterinarians will soon conduct full physical examinations and encourage the pandas to explore their surroundings, engage with natural plants, and use a jungle gym to promote natural behaviors, Chuk added.
To help the pandas feel more at home, the caretakers primarily speak Cantonese but also use Mandarin or the Sichuan dialect when calling their names, Leung explained. This daily interaction aims to build trust and security with the pandas.
The exact date for the pandas to meet the public will depend on how well they adapt to their new environment, according to park officials.
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