River Wonders panda cub weighs over 6kg as he nears 100th day
SINGAPORE — The yet-to-be-named male giant panda cub at River Wonders will be celebrating its 100th day on Sunday (21 November), as it nears the end of its most vulnerable period.
In a media release on Friday, the Mandai Wildlife Group said that the panda cub now weights a little over 6 kilograms - more than 30 times his birth weight - measures 67 centimetres long, has baby teeth and is showing off his new crawl-walking skills.
In China, where these giant pandas originate, it is customary to celebrate a baby cub's 100th day as bringing closure to the most vulnerable period for both mother and baby. As the cub grows, his mother Jia Jia has also been making strides in providing care and protection for her first-born.
Names for the cub were received from public submissions and reviewed by a judging panel. The cub will take on the name with the highest number of votes from the five shortlisted names that were released for online public voting earlier this month —宏宏 (Hong Hong), 叻叻 (Le Le), 新乐 (Xin Le), 新阳 (Xin Yang) and 新缘 (Xin Yuan).
“We are honoured to have him under our care and to contribute to his development over the first few months of his life, and we look forward to his name being jointly revealed by Singapore and China in December," said Mandai Wildlife Group chief executive officer Mike Barclay.
"We would like to thank the public for their help in the naming process, which received more than 64,000 votes.
"Guests can also look forward to catching sneak peeks of the cub at the Giant Panda Forest over the coming weeks. As he becomes more comfortable and independent, we expect him to join Jia Jia in her public exhibit from early next year."
The panda care team is preparing the cub for more health checks and his eventual public debut. He is being conditioned to be away from Jia Jia for longer periods, and introducing him to new environments to help him to adapt to different surroundings.
The team is also closely monitoring the cub’s coordination and the development of his motor skills. They will judge when it is the right time to allow him to explore the public exhibit, where he will be exposed to new elements such as plants, rocks, slopes and visitors to River Wonders.
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