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Delight as panda triplets turn 2 months old
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THE world’s only surviving giant panda triplets turned 2 months old yesterday, a day after their mother celebrated her 12th birthday.
The cubs were born on July 29 at the Chime Long Safari Park in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province. They are the longest surviving set of panda triplets in history.
Zhang Hemin, director of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas in west China’s Sichuan Province, said that the triplets have passed the newborn “danger zone” and have an unprecedented 95 percent likelihood of survival.
The triplets born at Chime Long is the fourth case of panda triplets recorded, according to the center. But in all previous instances, at least one of the triplets died from physical defects or being underweight.
Now the triplets have grown to around 3.5 kilograms each, and their weights are still growing by 3 to 5 percent every day.
The cubs have little hearing, but their ears will “open” in one or two months, said Dong Guixin, general manager of Chime Long Safari Parks.
The cubs’ facial features are also becoming distinct, helping distinguish them from one another when they’re on view in public, said a keeper on duty.
“Mother Juxiao is not able to feed all her three children currently,” said Dong.
“So the triplets take turns staying with her, each one for a week. The mother’s licking and touching are something humans can never provide.”
“A mother panda taking care of three cubs is something the world has never seen before.”
A keeper said they feed Juxiao with the freshest food so she can produce enough milk.
Mom is currently taking care of the female first-born of the trio, the smallest cub.
“At this stage, the first-born appears to be a very gentle girl,” said Wei Ming, an expert in charge of the newborn pandas’ feeding and management.
Her brothers are fed on a special panda formula, with their intake strictly measured.
“The elder brother is a naughty and energetic boy with a slim figure, while the younger one is a quite big boy,” Wei added.
Wei is one of the country’s top baby panda carers. In his 13-year career with the Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas in Chengdu, he has nursed more than 100 newborns.
Wei arrived at Chime Long the day Juxiao went into labor and has since taken the challenges presented by panda triplets head-on.
“The condition of the first-born was actually not good. It had scratches on its tail and its temperature was dropping,” Wei recalled,
“And the most dangerous thing was that it didn’t eat for about 13 hours.”
“I felt so relieved seeing it swallow the first mouthful of milk,” added Wei.
Chime Long general manager Dong said Juxiao is a super mother and also cooperates well with staff.
“From her conception to the delivery, and then to the daily feeding and nursing of the cubs, these tasks can never be done without cooperation between the mother panda and our staff,” Dong said.
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