For many, no trip to Mandai Wildlife Reserve is complete without a visit to the panda family at River Wonders.
As the stars of the Giant Panda Forest exhibit, Kai Kai, Jia Jia, and their son Le Le have attracted millions from around the world to see their fluffy faces in person.
Source: Mandai Wildlife Reserve on Facebook
Now, visitors will get even more chances to see them as Kai Kai and Jia Jia will be staying in Singapore for five more years.
The pandas will be here until at least 2027 thanks to a new agreement, giving locals and tourists more facetime with them.
The China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) and Mandai Wildlife Group signed the extension agreement today (2 Sep).
According to CWCA’s Secretary General Wu Minglu, the extension is possible thanks to a decade of success in China and Singapore’s efforts to advance panda conservation and research.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
Among those triumphs include a better understanding of pandas’ breeding cycles, millions of zoo visitors, and of course, the birth of Le Le.
Le Le was born last year on 14 Aug and recently celebrated his first birthday to much fanfare.
With the extension, both parties hope to make more strides in panda conservation and oversee the existing pandas’ further growth.
Le Le was conceived via artificial insemination, which is done by placing the male panda’s semen in an optimal location of the female panda’s uterus.
Mandai Wildlife Group facilitated the process with research that helped stabilise the pandas’ annual breeding cycles.
As Kai Kai and Jia Jia were the first pair of pandas to live so near the equator, this would have affected their mating behaviour.
Pandas’ mating instincts are triggered by hormonal changes to seasonal variations, temperature, and diet.
Together with the CWCA, the wildlife group was able to accurately determine when Jia Jia’s oestrous cycle would peak.
By doing so, they could maximise the chance of successful fertilisation. This eventually led to Le Le’s birth.
For context, the oestrous cycle refers to the period during which female mammals are in heat.
In the next five years, Mandai Wildlife Group and CWCA plan to provide Kai Kai and Jia Jia with more opportunities to mate naturally.
When pandas mate naturally, the birth rate is usually higher.
The two organisations will also conduct further research to better understand pandas under human care.
Image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Group
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists Giant Pandas as Vulnerable on its Red List of Threatened Species.
Due to threats like habitat loss and fragmentation, they remain a threatened species, making conservation efforts more important than ever.
We’re sure many Singaporeans are looking forward to seeing Kai Kai, Jia Jia, and Le Le through many more milestones.
After all, they’re the VIPs (Very Important Pandas) of Singapore.
Perhaps if future mating efforts pan out well, we could see an adorable sibling for Le Le in the future.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image courtesy of Mandai Wildlife Reserve and adapted from Mandai Wildlife Reserve on Facebook.
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