Two years ago, Singapore welcomed its first panda cub, Le Le, the baby of resident pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia.
And on Monday (14 Aug), Le Le celebrated his second birthday with a feast at River Wonders.
However, as with every child growing up, there comes a time when he will become an independent adult.
As such, Le Le will soon be separating from his mother, the Mandai Wildlife Group said.
On Monday (14 Aug), Mandai Wildlife Group released a press statement announcing Le Le’s second birthday.
In the release, they shared photographs of the giant panda cub’s second birthday bash that were absolutely adorable.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
Le Le’s panda care team had meticulously decked out his enclosure with a birthday banner and colourful embellishments. They also left a pile of presents for the birthday boy at the side.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
On top of that, they also prepared a bamboo birthday cake for the panda cub, but Le Le seemed more interested in his bamboo ‘candle’.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
Le Le got to indulge in treats such as sugarcane, sweet potato, grapes, and peach. The care team carefully laid them out on banana leaves and ice blocks for the cub, perfect for Singapore’s sweltering heat.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
There was also assorted confetti with straw, hay and wood shavings for him to play with during his party.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
According to the press release, Mandai Wildlife Group stated that Le Le has been showing signs of independence as of late.
He has been going about his daily activities such as eating, resting and playing on his own, away from mum Jia Jia.
Apparently, this is a normal process that giant pandas go through in the wild. From about 18 to 24 months, the cubs will exhibit signs indicating that they are comfortable being alone.
On the other hand, the mother will also undergo behavioural changes that will eventually lead to the rejection of their cubs.
As such, Le Le’s care team has been conditioning him to enter a new private den, away from Jia Jia.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group.
The Mandai Wildlife Group said about the segregation, “This will empower him to live apart from Jia Jia when the time comes.”
“Le Le is growing comfortable in his own space, and his panda care team is working closely with the Chinese experts to prepare him for the next phase of his life,” they added.
They expect full separation from Jia Jia to occur in the coming months, and will closely monitor their progress.
Once that happens, Jia Jia and Le Le will then timeshare their exhibit at the Giant Panda Forest in different shifts.
The public will be able to see the two pandas at these timings after that:
However, the Mandai Wildlife Group has yet to reveal when exactly they will start implementing the new timings.
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Featured image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group.
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