According to a report from Tangshan Ziqing Lake Tourist Area, the “sea-returning goddess” giant panda “Fu Feng” in the Ziqing Lake Wild Animal World has reached the appropriate age for marriage and will leave Nanjing in early March to return to her hometown in Sichuan for matchmaking and breeding.
Her keeper is very reluctant to see her go. After spending over five years with “Fu Feng,” the keeper has cared for her like their own child. Facing the separation, which could be a long one, the keeper said, “It’s like sending a daughter off to be married.”
“Fu Feng” and her twin brother, “Fu Ban,” were the first pair of giant panda twins to be successfully raised to adulthood by a captive mother panda. According to the keeper’s recollections, the siblings were born joyfully on August 7, 2016, at Schönbrunn Zoo in Austria and spent two wonderful years of “childhood” there. In December 2018, they left Vienna and returned to their distant home – the Sichuan Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center. On August 28, 2019, the siblings moved to Ziqing Lake Wild Animal World together.
This time, “Fu Feng” will take a special flight back to Sichuan as part of the breeding program. Giant pandas mature sexually between the ages of 4 and 6, with the ideal breeding age being between 6 and 20. Due to differences in living environments and nutritional levels, pandas in captivity tend to reach sexual maturity about a year earlier than their wild counterparts.
At nearly 9 years old, “Fu Feng” is now at the perfect breeding age and has been selected by the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center to participate in this year’s breeding program. Upon returning to her hometown, she will be paired with a carefully chosen male panda to see if romance sparks between them.
With “Fu Feng” leaving, will her companion of nearly 9 years, “Fu Ban,” feel lonely? The keeper believes that after such a long time of living together, “Fu Ban” will certainly feel some discomfort from the sudden separation. However, wild giant pandas are generally solitary except during mating periods, and the Ziqing Lake Wild Animal World will provide extra care for “Fu Ban.”