Singapore — Singapore’s first panda cub to celebrate his 100 days old milestone in the world this coming Sunday (Nov 21) at the River Safari, as the adorable and giant cub also keeps improving and learning to take his first steps.
Mandai Wildlife Reserve (MWR) shared a video on Friday (Nov 19) via their official Facebook page, updating the cub’s fans and the public about its growing progress and weight. They also stated that they will be revealing the name of the baby panda this coming December.
“A giant milestone this weekend as our #littleone turns 100 days old! You helped us choose a name which will be jointly revealed by Singapore and China in December. This weekend, we celebrate how he ‘pawsed’ our busy lives and filled our hearts with his!,” the Facebook post said.
Last September, MWR also revealed to the public the gender of the baby panda, which was confirmed in a consultation with the Chinese research centre, is a male. Many were happy and willing to suggest names for the little one.
Mandai Wildlife Group’s (MWG) Group CEO, Mike Barclay said “We would like to thank the public for their help in the naming process, which received more than 64,000 votes.” Singaporeans and the netizens expressed their excitement and cannot wait to know the name of the baby panda this December.
The five names that has been shortlisted are 宏宏 (Hóng Hóng), 叻叻 (Lè Lè), 新乐 (Xīn Lè), 阳 (Xīn Yáng), and 新缘 (Xīn Yuán). Among the choices, the one with the most number of votes will be the name of the little one who will be monitored and officiated by representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Singapore and the MWG heads.
According to Barclay, the cub could also join his mother, Jia Jia, in public exhibit starting next year when he matures more and be comfortable and independent.
The panda cub is quickly growing and gaining weight as it weighs at a little over 6kg, and measures 67cm long as of this moment. As seen in the video posted, the cub has been healthy and has grown some small baby teeth.
As the public welcomes the little one, the media and the Singapore and Chinese governments have also been tuning in for the cub’s updates and journey. In two years, the cub will return to China when he’s fully developed and independent to join China’s panda breeding population.
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Meanwhile, the park’s panda cub care team is currently preparing for his public debut by training the cub to be away from his mother for a few hours. The team believes that this will help the little one to adjust and adapt to the environment.
Many were happy about the little updates and progress of the baby panda. Some Singaporeans hope that his birth certificate will indicate that he was born in Singapore and some do not want the little one to go to China and extend his stay for a while.
The little one’s birthday is August 14. / TISG.