Born on July 20, 2020
Quickly Grabs a Cone Made of Bamboo Shoots and Fruit
Fubao, the giant panda who returned to China last April after leaving Korea, celebrated her fifth birthday in China with a special birthday feast.
On the 18th, Yonhap News Agency, citing Chinese media outlets such as China News Service and Xinhua News Agency, reported that the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda launched its "Panda Birthday Season Event" the previous day at the Wolong Xianshuping Base in Sichuan Province. The event was organized with the consideration that most pandas bred in China give birth between July and September, resulting in a concentration of panda birthdays during this period.
On the 17th, giant panda Fubao is eating bamboo at the Wolong Xianshuping Base in Sichuan Province, southwestern China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency
Fubao, who was born on July 20, 2020, and turned five years old, also received a birthday feast in front of visitors the previous day. The birthday table was set with carrots, bamboo shoots, ice blocks, and bamboo leaves. According to China News Service, "Fubao carefully chose her birthday gift inside the enclosure and eventually picked a 'cone' made of bamboo shoots and fruit to taste first."
The zookeeper said, "Fubao enjoys searching the yard for bamboo shoots, and her favorite foods are the tips of bamboo shoots and apples." The zookeeper also explained that "Fubao communicates with neighboring pandas by making sounds." In addition, it was noted that although Fubao did not mate this year, she showed signs of pseudopregnancy, which was described as "a normal physiological phenomenon caused by hormonal changes."
Fubao was born in March 2016 to Le Bao, a male giant panda sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping as a symbol of Korea-China friendship, and Ai Bao, a female panda. Fubao lived at Everland in Yongin and received much love before being returned to China on April 3 last year, in accordance with the agreement that required her to be sent back before the age of four. As public interest in Fubao's adjustment to life in China grew, there were some rumors regarding her health and abnormal behavior; however, Chinese authorities stated that examinations found no issues.
At the event the previous day, other pandas, including Xiao Qiji, who returned from the United States in November 2023, also received birthday celebrations.
Meanwhile, Fubao's twin younger siblings, Ruibao and Huibao, who remain at Everland, celebrated their second birthday on the 7th. To mark July, when the birthdays of the entire panda family?twins, mother Ai Bao (13th), and father Le Bao (28th)?are clustered together, Everland is holding the "Happy Baos Day" panda birthday week until August 3.
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