SINGAPORE - Pandas Jia Jia and Kai Kai bound for Singapore will arrive on
Sept 6, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) announced on Wednesday.
In the announcement, WRS also said that the public can expect to visit the
panda pair in December after they have completed a month-long quarantine in
Singapore and have been well-familiarised with their new home at the River
Safari.
Earlier, ST had reported that the opening was expected to be in November.
The pandas, which are on a 10-year loan from the China Wildlife Conservation
Association (CWCA) to Singapore, were initially meant to arrive in March but
their arrival was delayed because more changes had to be made to their $8.5
million enclosure.
Director of CWCA, Mr Zhong Yi, told members of the media on Tuesday that
representatives made a visit of the 1,225 sq m panda enclosure in June and
found everything in order.
Mr Zhong said they are currently being quarantined in Ya'an sanctuary in
Sichuan province, China. This phase began early this month.
The pandas will travel on a charter flight sponsored by Singapore Airlines
and are expected to touch down at Changi Airport at 8.20am on Sept 6.
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The panda pair, four-year-old Jia Jia and five-year-old Kai Kai, will be on a
10-year loan, making Singapore the ninth country to receive giant pandas from
China. Others include the United States, Germany, Japan and Thailand. The loan
was a key bilateral initiative, was made official during Chinese President Hu
Jintao’s state visit to Singapore in 2009. [Pictured here is Kai Kai in his
sanctuary in Ya'an Bifeng Gorge in Sichuan Province.]
Pandas at the Ya’an Bifengxia Conservation Base in Sichuan province, China
soaking up the sunshine and munching on bamboo shoots. A $8.5 million panda
enclosure at the upcoming River Safari in Singapore is being prepared in
anticipation of the arrival of Kai Kai and Jia Jia, two pandas that the
Republic will receive on loan from China.
FIVE-STAR TREATMENT: To make the panda pair feel at home, ST reported that WRS
had planted four different species of bamboo around its three wildlife parks -
Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and at empty plots at the upcoming River Safari -
to ensure that they have enough to eat and a variety to choose from. [Pictured
here is female panda bear Jia Jia in her sanctuary in Ya'an Bifeng Gorge,
Sichuan province, on May 16, 2012.]
Pandas are big and fussy eaters. They can chew up to 15kg of bamboo a day,
reported ST. [Pictured here is male panda bear Kai Kai in his sanctuary in
Ya'an Bifeng Gorge, Sichuan province, on May 16, 2012.]
According to ST, batches of Singapore-grown bamboo have been sent to the Ya’an
Bifengxia Conservation Base for a taste test with the two pandas to see if they
like the food. [Pictured here is male panda bear Kai Kai in his sanctuary in
Ya'an Bifeng Gorge, Sichuan province, on May 16, 2012.]
When they move to Singapore on a Singapore Airlines-sponsored flight, 200kg of
bamboo will be shipped from China “to help them ease into their new diet”, said
Ms Chiang. [Pictured here is male panda bear Kai Kai in his sanctuary in Ya'an
Bifeng Gorge, Sichuan province, on May 16, 2012.]
To make Jia Jia and Kai Kai feel even more at home for the next 10 years, lush
greenery, boulders and water features have been included in the landscaping of
their enclosure to assimilate the hilly terrain of the panda base in Sichuan.
[Pictured here is a panda sanctuary in Ya'an Bifeng Gorge, Sichuan.]
As pandas love to climb trees, Ms Chiang told ST that “toys” such as climbing
structures are also being set up.
Five-year-old male Kai Kai and four-year-old female Jia Jia share a dedicated
villa (above) in the panda sanctuary. When not feeding in their enclosures, the
animals sleep in the villa, which is cooler. The 1,225 sq m panda enclosure
built in Singapore for them will be kept at 18 deg C to 22 deg C, with humidity
levels at 50 per cent to 60 per cent all year round.
