SINGAPORE: The River Safari's giant panda couple Kai Kai and Jia Jia celebrated hitting the double-digits on Friday (Sep 14) with bamboo cakes, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) said in a media release.
Male panda Kai Kai turned 11 on Friday, while female bear Jia Jia turned 10 on Sep 3. Giant pandas in captivity have been known to live beyond their 20s.
AdvertisementThe 1.2m-tall cakes, made out of bamboo and topped with apples and carrots, collectively weighed about 17kg.
“Kai Kai and Jia Jia love getting treats, and we love spoiling them!” said Halim Ali, assistant curator at the River Safari.
"I’ve cared for the duo since they arrived in Singapore six years ago. They are like family to the team of keepers," he added.
[h=3]READ: No mating for Kai Kai and Jia Jia this year, as keepers turn to artificial insemination[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisement[h=3]READ: Third time unlucky: No baby yet for giant pandas Kai Kai and Jia Jia[/h]The two pandas, which are on loan to Singapore from the Chinese government for 10 years, arrived in Singapore in 2012.
They reached mating age in 2015 but three previous attempts at natural mating failed to produce baby pandas.
This April, WRS sought to use artificial insemination to induce pregnancy in Jia Jia for the first time.
As giant pandas have delayed implantation, a pregnancy cannot be determined until the later part of the panda's gestation period.
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