Giant Pandas Da Mei and Qing Qing Turn 7

“Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You…” Recently, as the birthday song echoed through the giant panda house at Changsha Ecological Zoo, giant pandas “Da Mei” and “Qing Qing” gazed at the enticing birthday cakes before them, their faces beaming with happiness and joy.

This year, “Da Mei” turned 7 on June 27, and “Qing Qing” turned 7 on July 22. “In June and July, we were too busy with flood relief efforts to find time to celebrate the birthdays of ‘Da Mei’ and ‘Qing Qing,'” said staff from Changsha Ecological Zoo. Although the birthday wishes came late, the celebrations were more lively and the “birthday feast” more sumptuous than in previous years.

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On the day of the celebration, with meticulous arrangements by the zoo’s science promotion department and caregivers, the rooms of “Da Mei” and “Qing Qing” were decorated with birthday banners and balloons, creating a festive atmosphere. When the custom-made fruit and vegetable birthday cakes for the two pandas were brought out, the adorable pandas began to taste them slowly and gracefully.

The birthday cakes included watermelon, lemon, pumpkin, apple, dragon fruit, and were complemented with steamed corn bread and hibiscus flowers. In addition to the fruit ice cakes, fruit skewers were also served. The zoo live-streamed the entire event on their video and TikTok accounts, with nearly 10,000 “panda fans” sending birthday wishes to “Da Mei” and “Qing Qing.”

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Both “Da Mei” and “Qing Qing” are female and this was their fourth birthday celebration in Changsha. In November 2019, the star pandas “Jun Jun” and “Zhen Zhen” from Changsha Ecological Zoo returned to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding when their lease expired.

Ten months later, in September 2020, Changsha Ecological Zoo reached a lease agreement with the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, and “Da Mei” and “Qing Qing” were sent to the Changsha Ecological Zoo. To ensure the pandas live happily and comfortably, the zoo upgraded and renovated their habitat.

The upgraded panda house has a building area of approximately 2,300 square meters, including two indoor activity areas totaling 319 square meters, two outdoor activity areas totaling 1,700 square meters, as well as rooms for duty, monitoring, treatment, feed processing, bamboo storage, and feed storage.

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The indoor activity areas and living quarters are equipped with central air conditioning, and other rooms have backup air conditioning. The indoor activity areas have access points for the pandas, sleeping platforms, and perches made of logs, as well as artificial hills, pools, and swings. The outdoor activity areas are designed to mimic their natural environment, equipped with perches, misting systems, pools, and sun shelters.

To ensure the pandas’ diet, bamboo shoots, leaves, and stalks are airlifted from Chengdu to Changsha. “The panda house is staffed with four caregivers, one technical supervisor, two veterinarians, two security personnel, and one caregiver dispatched from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding,” explained the head of the animal management department at Changsha Ecological Zoo. The daily bamboo shoot requirement for the two pandas is approximately 200 to 300 pounds.