Eats, shoots and cake: The peckish pandas who love nothing more than tucking into sweet treats

By Emma Clark Everybody deserves a to treat themselves with a slice of freshly baked cake now and again - even a group of playful pandas. The gang of giant pandas were delighted to be included in the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations in China yesterday, a public bank holiday in the country. Staff at Chime-Long Xiangjiang Safari Park treated them to specially made Chinese 'mooncakes', a cake traditionally enjoyed by the population during the lunar harvest festival.

A cute young panda gazes up in hope at a 'mooncake' passed into his cage on the tip of a bamboo stick

A group of the hungry giant pandas quickly gather to tuck into the sweet treats being handed out The public watched on in delight as the individual cakes were passed on the tip of bamboo canes to the stars of the Chimelong Panda Centre, who were licking their lips in excited anticipation. Amusing photographs show the group hungrily reaching for the sweet treats before playfully scrapping with each other for a bite. But some of the lucky ones were pictured contently tucking into their share after sneaking off alone.

An eager panda licks his lips as the mooncake approaches, while the rest climb over each other to get closer

Not for sharing: A trio of the pandas playfully grapple over one of the cakes The centre covers an area of over 10000 square meters with a setting of mountains and ponds as well as plenty of bamboo. The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, where the population enjoy matchmaking dances, fire dragon displays and lighting lanterns as well as admiring the full moon.

Finally... one of the contented pandas gets a moment of peace to enjoy his afternoon tea alone source:dailymail

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Phew, that's better! Panting panda deals with the heat with a big block of ice and a cool pool

By Alex Ward


When the mercury pushes 35 degrees Celsius, the only remedy for a giant panda is one giant ice block.

Eight-year-old Wei Wei was able to cool down in the scorching weather at Wuhan Zoo, in China's Hubei Province, by giving the ice block a big bear hug on Wednesday.

And he didn’t venture far for snacks with carrots on ice a much cooler option than the usual bamboo shoots.


Way too hot for Wei Wei: For snacking the giant panda chose carrots on ice over bamboo shoots in 35 degree heat at the Chinese zoo

Polarised: The giant panda tried to think of polar bears, lying on a huge ice block in an attempt to cool down

Pandas eat fast and usually spend 12 hours a day munching away but in the heat there was a much more pressing matter - to cool down.

The only movement worth making was to his paddling pool where Wei Wei splashed himself with water and licked his lips.


Panda paddle: A splash in his pool at Wuhan Zoo was worth leaving the ice blocks for, if only for a quick dip

In the wild: Mountain streams and winter snow, an environment that giant pandas are acclimatised to, would've been a welcome change to the heat but the pool provided some relief

While his thick, coarse fur is handy in the cooler climates, when it comes to July - the hottest month in China - it can prove to be a boiling barrier.

There are only 1,000 giant pandas left in the wild and about 127 in captivity with many living in zoos like Wuhan Zoo and others in America, Mexico, Japan, Germany and North Korea.

Their biggest threat is the destruction of their habitat in southwestern China due to logging.


source:dailymail

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Worth the wait: Exhausted panda Shin Shin cuddles her newborn baby after Japan's first birth in captivity for 24 years

•First panda born in Japan in 24 years and first ever to be conceived naturally in the country
•Prior to its birth it caused political scandal as Japanese governor suggested naming it after disputed islands both Japan and China lay claim to
•As with all giant pandas in captivity outside China the baby and its mother Shin Shin is on loan and will eventually be returned


These heartwarming pictures show seven-year-old mother Shin Shin cuddling her new-born at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo.

The people of Japan are celebrating the first baby panda born in the country in 24 years.

The birth was captured on night vision webcam and a video was quickly released by Ueno Zoo showing Shin Shin giving birth and holding the tiny baby to her chest.

Love and care: Shin Shin cuddles her newly born baby holding the cub close to her chest

The sex of the cub, born on Thursday, has not yet been determined.

It is the first panda to be born after being conceived naturally in Japanese history.

The task is extremely difficult task as female pandas are only in heat for 72 hours over the entire year and can only become pregnant during a 24 hour slot.

In the wild female pandas normally have a cub every two or three years.

The unnamed cub is too young to have gained the characteristic black marks and its size is not living up to the name of Giant Panda

The unnamed baby panda caused a stir even before it was born.

When it was announced last week that Shin Shin was pregnant Japanese governor Shintaro Ishihara suggested Shin Shin’s baby be named Sen Sen or Kaku Kaku – a wordplay on the disputed Senkaku Islands which are part of Japan but are claimed by both Taiwan and China.

He got a quick response from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei regarding the islands, known to the Chinese as the Diaoyu.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital last Friday he said: ‘Ishihara’s scheme to undermine China-Japan relations is a clumsy performance. It will only tarnish the image of Japan and Tokyo,’

‘No matter what names the Japanese side gives, it cannot change the fact that the two pandas belong to China.

‘Likewise, what names Japan gives to the Diaoyu Island and the adjacent isles, it cannot change the fact that these islands belong to China.’

The zoo's panda team, comprised of five workers and four veterinarians, will continue using two cameras to observe the pair 24 hours a day for about a week, and have been joined by a breeding expert from Sichuan, China, where Shin Shin grew up.

Visitors to the zoo eager to see the baby will be disappointed as Ueno Zoo, which is the oldest in Japan, has expressed wishes to keep the cub and mother away from the public for another six months.

Shin Shin and her mate, Ri Ri, are on loan from China for 10 years.

Under the terms of the agreement between Japan and China, the cub will be sent back in two years.


Just the two of us: The cub is the first to be born in Japan in 24 years and will no be displayed to the public for six months


source: dailymail

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Playtime for pandas: Cute bears take it in turns to have go on newly built slide

By Daily Mail Reporter


These cute and cuddly Chinese panda cubs are giving their carers the real run around.

Endearing footage shows the four friendly black and white beauties slipping and sliding down a custom-made wooden slide.

Living at the Chengdu Panda Base, dedicated to saving and breeding giant pandas and other rare animals, at times they act like little kittens.

Scroll down to see the video...


Cute: The fabulous footage shows the four pandas slipping and sliding down the slide


Squealing: Emitting cute noises, the pandas role on their backs as they tackle the obstacle

All fours: This panda looks like he's having a whale of a time as he plops off the end of the slide

Emitting tiny squeals of delight as gravity pulls them down to the ground, they follow in the footsteps of their human keepers by playing on the equipment.

And they seem infinitely more active than their former zoo-mates Yang Guang and Tian Tian, who arrived at Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo for a 10-year conservation project on December 4 last year.


Pile-up: The pandas charge onto the slide and fool about at the bottom, pushing some of them over the edge


Hugs: It's a real scrum to try and get onto the slide, shown by these hilarious pictures

Chilling out: It's no surprise this panda has to have a rest after his exertions with his friends

The aim was for the pair to mate and breed, thus saving a species that is in rapid danger of soon becoming extinct.

But so far natural sparks have failed to fly between the couple and they remain panda cub-less.

VIDEO: Panda playtime! See the cute cuddly bears take their turns on the slide!...




source:dailymail

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Growing up fast: Cute baby panda filmed being fed by and playing with its mother at Chinese zoo

By David Gerges


Say cheese: The adorable four-month old baby panda is being nursed to full size at a zoo in China


Despite the growing fears over the future of the panda, these pictures show that all is well for one adorable cub.

Born in September last year, the young infant is being nurtured by its mother Ya Ya, under the watchful eye of delighted zoo keepers.

Keepers at Chongqing Zoo in southwest China, are pleased with the speed at which their latest addition is growing, and are hopeful it will soon be making its first public appearance.

Camera shy: The furry cub is being cared for by keepers and its mother Ya Ya


Keeper Hu Youlin said: 'The panda is growing as expected. Presently the baby panda weights 7 kilograms.

'The baby panda's arms and legs have grown stronger. Sometimes it even imitates the moves of its mother, which looks very cute.'

And according to Hu, the cub is monitored 24 hours a day to ensure its safety and as it continues to acclimatise to its surroundings.

He added: 'It has been under the care of its mother and is fed every a few hours, four or five times in a day.

'Sometimes, after its mother falls asleep, the baby will turn to its mother and feed itself.'


Mother's pride: Ya Ya plays with its infant at the popular enclosure

Cheeky: The baby cub feeds itself despite its mother falling asleep


The zoo which was built in 1955, owns more than 230 species of animals, with a total of more than 6000 animals in its reserve.

Chongqing Zoo is the breeding base for the giant panda, with more than a million visitors flocking to its enclosure to see the loveable mammal amongst other creatures.

Whilst pandas are on the red list of critically endangered species, it is estimated that there are 1,600 in the wild, with a further 332 in captivity.



source:dailymail

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The Panda that eats MEAT! Panda caught on infra-red camera having midnight feast of dead antelope

By Lucy Buckland


Forget the bamboo! This giant panda gets his teeth around a dead antelope in the forest in Ping Wu, in Sichuan province


He looks like he has been caught out helping himself to a forbidden snack.

And perhaps this panda realises he has given away a secret kept under wraps for years as he is captured red-handed tucking into a dead antelope.

It was previously thought the creatures were strictly herbivores but as this infra-red camera shot taken in Ping Wu, in southwest China's Sichuan province shows, pandas sometimes do prefer a meaty snack.


According to the World Wildlife Fund China pandas have the digestive system of a carnivore and will eat meat if available, but adapted a long time ago to a vegetarian diet.

Because of this carnivorous digestive system the panda derives little energy and protein from consumption of bamboo so must eat as much as 14kg a day to stay healthy.

It has taken millions of years living in bamboo forests for the panda to improve its ability to digest cellulose from bamboo.

It is unlikely the panda pictured killed the antelope in the picture and may have fortuitously stumbled across the animal in the forest.

China is set to launch its once-a-decade panda census as it tries to determine how many of the endangered animals live in the wild amid efforts to boost numbers.

That's more like it! Yang Guang the panda at Edinburgh Zoo gets his mouth around the more traditional panda snack, bamboo


And as the population depletes government officials confirmed it will begin sending pandas bred in captivity into a controlled wilderness area in southwestern Sichuan province next month, the most ambitious attempt to rebuild the country's depleted population of giant pandas in a natural habitat.

The first six pandas selected from 108 raised by the Chengdu Giant Panda
Rehabilitation Project, the world's largest captive bred population of giant pandas, will be released to a protected natural area covering more than 2,000 acres.

'Rather than keeping them in their enclosures, we will spend the next 50 years helping them return to their natural habitat, which is the ultimate goal of the Chengdu Panda Base,' Zhang Zhihe, director of the base, said.

The pandas, bred through artificial insemination, will be released in batches and monitored as they acclimatise. Those who perform well in an initial area will be released into the primary controlled wilderness area.

The first six pandas range in age from two to four and were chosen on the basis of gender ratio and health.

In 2004, a census by the Worldwide Fund for Nature counted 1,600 pandas in the wild, most in Sichuan province.

Pandas are difficult to breed because females ovulate only once a year and can only become pregnant during a two or three-day period.



source:dailymail

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