Baby panda celebrates first birthday in Zoo Negara

Baby panda celebrates first birthday in Zoo Negara

The cub is the second born to the giant pandas sent from China to Malaysia on a 10-year loan in 2014.

The female cub sits next to her birthday cake at Zoo Negara yesterday. (AFP pic)
KUALA LUMPUR:
A giant panda born in Zoo Negara celebrated her first birthday yesterday with a cake made of ice in front of adoring visitors.

The youngster looked around shyly as a zookeeper carried her to a platform in her enclosure where the cake, which had a large number “one” on top, was waiting.

After nibbling at some carrots used to decorate the creation, the panda – who has not yet been named – seemed to tire of the celebrations, and fell asleep.

Currently weighing 34kg, she is the second cub born to Liang Liang and Xing Xing since they were sent from China to Malaysia in 2014, on a 10-year loan.

The first, Nuan Nuan, was born in August 2015 and sent back to China in 2017. Beijing and Kuala Lumpur have agreed that cubs born in captivity must go back to China at the age of two.

The pandas are kept at the national zoo’s panda centre outside Kuala Lumpur.

It’s estimated there are some 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild, living mainly in bamboo forest in the mountains of western China, according to environmental group WWF.

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