Singapore's first giant panda cub Le Le to leave for China in December
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s first giant panda cub Le Le will leave for China in the second half of December, with his farewell event to be held on Nov 20, Mandai Wildlife Group announced on Friday (Sep 22).
The event will be Le Le's last day in the Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest exhibit at River Wonders park. He will be moved into mandatory quarantine later on the same day.
Having celebrated his second birthday - last month - while also growing more independent, his departure for China will "fulfil the important mission of contributing to the conservation of the giant panda species", said Mandai Wildlife Group.
Leading up to Le Le's journey to China at the end of the year, Mandai Wildlife Group and Chinese experts will work to ensure the cub is in optimal condition, through vaccinations, health assessments and conditioning.
Le Le's parents Kai Kai, 16, and Jia Jia, 15, will remain in Singapore at River Wonders. An agreement was signed in 2022 to extend their stay for five more years.
Mandai Wildlife Group said it would continue to work closely with counterparts in China to ensure the continued well-being of both pandas, and to plan for their future breeding cycles.
INCREASING SIGNS OF INDEPENDENCE
The panda cub had earlier displayed increasing independence by eating, resting and playing on his own, away from his mother Jia Jia, said Mandai Wildlife Group.
In turn, Jia Jia had also started to show slight "avoidance behaviours" such as moving away, when Le Le approaches.
"In the wild, behavioural changes in mother pandas lead to the eventual rejection of their cubs. All of this is part and parcel of the life stage progression of giant pandas which are solitary by nature," said Mandai Wildlife Group.
To prepare mother and son for their eventual separation, Le Le has been conditioned since February to enter a new private den away from Jia Jia. They have also been fed in separate dens since August.
Their Giant Panda exhibit will "soon" designate different timings to see Le Le (from 10am to 2pm) and Jia Jia (2pm to 6pm).
From Oct 6 to Oct 31, there will be a 40 per cent discount off the One Adult and One Child admission bundle to River Wonders, Mandai Wildlife Group announced on Friday.
Le Le's farewell campaign will also include photo points and a fan mailbox at River Wonders, as well as mascot meet-and-greets at various locations around Singapore.
"Since his birth in 2021, Le Le has captured not only our hearts, but also that of the entire nation and overseas visitors, giving us many joyful moments as we watched him grow," said Mandai Wildlife Group's deputy CEO and chief life sciences officer Cheng Wen-Haur.
"We celebrate that he will soon be checking off his biggest milestone yet when he goes to China."
