TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A panda at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo gave birth to twins on Wednesday, weeks after news of Shin Shin’s pregnancy sent stocks in nearby restaurants soaring. They were born in the early hours of Wednesday, the zoo said in a statement, adding that it had not yet confirmed the sex of the pair. Zoo director Yutaka Fukuda said the twin birth was a first for the Ueno facility. “When I heard the […]
Tag: panda
Canada pandas running on empty as bamboo dries up
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — A pair of pandas on loan from China to a Canadian zoo are facing a food shortage as their supply of fresh bamboo dries up, officials warned. And plans to send them back to China, where bamboo is abundant and easy to access, according to a Calgary Zoo statement, have been stalled by pandemic-era changes to import and quarantine regulations. Er Shun, a female, and Da Mao, a male, each require […]
Leopards, wolves vanishing from panda conservation areas: study
by Kelly MACNAMARA Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — It may be one of the most recognisable symbols of conservation, but efforts to protect the giant panda have failed to safeguard large mammals sharing its habitats, according to research published Monday showing dramatic declines of leopards and other predators. The giant panda has won the hearts of animal lovers around the world and images of the bamboo-eating creature with its ink-blot eye patches have come […]
Panda gifted by China gives birth to second cub in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A giant panda gifted by China to Taiwan has given birth to a second female cub after being artificially inseminated, Taipei Zoo announced Monday. Yuan Yuan and her partner Tuan Tuan have been top attractions since arriving from China in 2008 as a symbol of what were then warm relations between the two sides. The unnamed cub, weighing 186 grams, was born on Sunday after five-hour labor, the zoo said. “We […]
First giant panda born in Netherlands
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Wu Wen, a giant panda loaned to a Dutch zoo by China, has given birth in a first for the Netherlands, Ouwehands animal park announced Saturday. Mating took place in January and the cub, which belongs to Beijing just like the mother and father Xing Ya, was born on May 1. “The mother and her cub are staying in the maternity den and are doing well,” the zoo in the […]
Berlin’s panda twins ready for public debut
BERLIN, Germany(AFP) — Two panda cubs born at Berlin Zoo last year charmed local media on Wednesday, a day before their debut in front of the general public. Five-month-old males Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, whose names mean “long-awaited dream” and “dream come true”, were seen climbing over boulders as they explored their enclosure, watched by their mother Meng Meng and members of the press. The two cuddly cubs were the first pandas to be […]
Rare albino panda caught on camera in China: state media
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A rare all-white panda has been caught on camera at a nature reserve in southwest China, showing albinism exists among wild pandas in the region, state media reported. The spotless, red-eyed animal was photographed while trekking through the forest mid-April in southwestern Sichuan province, said official news agency Xinhua on Saturday. The panda is an albino between one to two years old, said Li Sheng, a researcher specializing in bears at […]
Panda cub makes first public appearance at Malaysia zoo
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — A four-month-old panda cub made her first public appearance Saturday at the Malaysian zoo where she was born, to the delight of visitors. The fluffy little cub was the second born to Liang Liang, who has been on loan to Malaysia since 2014, aong with a male panda, a rare success story for natural reproduction among giant pandas which are notoriously clumsy at mating on the rare occasions they are […]
Animal and plant species vanishing fast, as conservationists try to save them from extinction
by Marlowe Hood Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Animal and plant species are vanishing at an accelerating pace around the world — sometimes even before we know that they exist — but conservationists are pushing back against the juggernaut of mass extinction. From captive breeding to satellite tracking; restoring habitats to removing predators; shaming multinationals to nursing baby pandas and orangutans — in all these ways, scientists and others have given a […]
China plans panda park that will dwarf Yellowstone
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — China will create a bastion of giant pandas three times the size of Yellowstone National Park to link up and encourage breeding among existing wild populations of the notoriously slow-reproducing animal, state media reported Thursday. At least 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) has been secured over the next five years for construction of the Giant Panda National Park in mountainous southwestern China for the nation’s favorite creature, the China Daily reported. […]
Oh, how cute: Tokyo crowds flock to see baby panda on first day
by Harumi Ozawa Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Hundreds of fans flocked to a Tokyo zoo Tuesday for the first public viewing of baby panda Xiang Xiang, after winning a lucky lottery ticket that a quarter of a million applied for. Long queues formed outside the zoo as fans — many wearing panda cub hats or gloves — waited patiently for a brief glimpse of Xiang Xiang, whose name is derived from the […]
Baby panda makes press debut at Japan zoo
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A baby panda born six months ago made its debut before the cameras in Japan Monday, a day before a doting public gets an eagerly-awaited glimpse of the cuddly animal. The panda named Xiang Xiang — derived from the Chinese character for “fragrance” — has sparked a media frenzy since its birth on June 12 at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. Broadcasters aired live footage of the cub nimbly climbing a tree and […]





