Panda Ying Ying’s journey brings lives together as Janet Long Shun-kwan met a partner in Wolong Shenshuping Base at the China Conservation and Research Center.
Janet Long Shun-kwan, a devoted caretaker, is thrilled about giant panda Ying Ying giving birth to twin cubs in August, following years of unsuccessful mating attempts and a miscarriage.
Long began caring for Ying Ying in 2009 and closely witnessed the panda’s decade-long journey to motherhood, which started in 2011.
Ying Ying and her male companion, Le Le, were gifted to Hong Kong by the central government in 2007, but repeated attempts to mate naturally had failed to produce offspring.
In 2015, Long accompanied Ying Ying to the Wolong Shenshuping Base at the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province for a natural breeding program.
During their six-month stay at the Wolong base, Ying Ying conceived but unfortunately suffered a miscarriage.
While the trip was challenging for Ying Ying, it turned out to be life-changing for Long, who met Dong Chao, a senior caretaker experienced in giant panda breeding since 2003. The two later married.
Although Long returned to Hong Kong after the trip, her connection with Dong deepened over their shared love for giant pandas, and their relationship flourished.
In 2018, after much deliberation, Long decided to leave her job in Hong Kong and move to Wolong to start a family with Dong, marking a new chapter in her life.
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