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Ocean Park Wishes the Two Generations of Giant Pandas Happy Birthday

2021-08-03

Ocean Park hosted birthday celebrations for our giant pandas, An An, Ying Ying and Le Le last week. The Park also introduced an array of time-limited panda-themed delicacies and merchanising offers for visitors to participate in this annual celebration feast for our beloved animal ambassadors.
 
Residing at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures, An An[1] is the first generation of giant panda in the Park. In the past 22 years, our animal caretakers have been providing the best husbandry care to An An; while working closely with the veterinary team to monitor his health condition, and to provide him with optimal medical care. The “centenarian panda” loves spending his day lazing under the sun and enjoying every drop of soyabean milk.
 
Giant pandas in the wild typically live about 20 years on average, and lifespans of those under human care can reach 30 years. The elderly An An reaches 35 years old this month, which is equivalent to about 105 in human age. He is now standing as the world’s longest-living male giant panda under human care in history, demonstrating a great achievement of the Park in animal husbandry and conservation.
 
To mark this remarkable moment, the animal team joined hands with Häagen-Dazs™ to tailor-make a vividly-coloured icy cake as a birthday blessing to An An. The Park also invited the younger giant panda duo Le Le and Ying Ying, who will turn 16 years old on 8 and 16 August, to join the celebration. The specially-designed cakes were made with the trio’s favourite food, including bamboo, sweet potato, carrot, pear and Fuji apple, topped with their names and ages.
 
The celebration party started with An An joyfully meeting his fellow fans at the habitat. The young-at-heart was eager in checking out his birthday treats. He first sat down to enjoy his favourite bamboo shoot, yet the playful panda soon took over the party by smashing and devouring the delectable cake! Similar happened to the younger Le Le, who burst out munching with excitement as he received blessings from the animal carers.
 
Male Le Le is one of the Park’s second generation of giant pandas, who joined our big family with female Ying Ying in 2007, residing at Giant Panda Adventure since then. Le Le is a “towel-lover” while Ying Ying is the water sports “expert” as she loves dipping in every now and then.
 
The duo succeeded in their natural mating attempts earlier this year, and Ying Ying has been showing typical pregnancy symptoms since late July. These symptoms include a decreased appetite and a prolonged resting time. Yet, these factors could also be indicators of pseudo-pregnancy.
 
The animal carers will continue to closely monitor Ying Ying’s hormonal levels and behavioural changes, and will update the public on the latest developments as information becomes available. In the meantime, to allow the husbandry team to take better care of them, Giant Panda Adventure is closed temporarily until further notice.
 
What’s more, the Park launches wide range of merchandising discounts and delightful delicacies to immerse giant panda fans in this August celebration. Selected panda plush are available at a special price* at Waterfront Gifts and Panda Kingdom Shop, while visitors can also enjoy a 30% discount* upon any purchase of selected Panda Bags. In addition, between 8 and 16 August, visitors can also try out the adorable panda-themed desserts at Aqua City Bakery. Make sure you don’t miss out these unbeatable offers!
 
* The above offers cannot be used in conjunction with other promotional offers.
  
Special thanks to: Häagen-Dazs™
 

[1] Since An An was rescured from the wild, his exact birthday is unknown.