VIP flight, temperature-controlled cabin: How Singapore’s panda cub Le Le will travel back to China

SINGAPORE: Panda cub Le Le will travel in style to its new home in China, on board a specially arranged Singapore Airlines aircraft – featuring a temperature-controlled cabin and a special in-flight meal.

The two-year-old giant panda cub, the first born in Singapore, is set to travel on Jan 16, departing Changi International Airport at 7.15pm for Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Mandai Wildlife Group and Singapore Airlines said in a joint press release on Wednesday (Dec 13).

Le Le's departure was initially scheduled for the second half of December. The panda will travel on a Boeing 747-400F freighter aircraft designed for versatile cargo transport, fitted with tracks, locks and rollers to accommodate different types of cargo.

Chief pilot Nithaar Zain said he will check for possible turbulence spots along the route before departure and try to avoid them.

The cabin’s ambient temperature will be maintained between 15 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius, which is consistent with the temperature of Le Le’s habitat at River Wonders.

The aircraft’s nose door can be opened upwards to accommodate Le Le’s custom-made crate, as well as its travel essentials – including an in-flight meal of up to 50kg of bamboo, bamboo shoots, fruit, pellets and water.

The custom-made crate, which took about two weeks to build, was introduced to Le Le’s den on Nov 27 in preparation for its flight.

The panda care team has been conditioning the cub for its flight using positive reinforcement training, which involves food rewards to encourage him to voluntarily enter the crate and get accustomed to being inside.

“Le Le is getting well acquainted with the travel crate which will be loaded onto an air-conditioned truck – similarly kept at around 15 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius – for the journey to Changi Airport on departure day,” Mandai Wildlife Group and Singapore Airlines said.

They added that the crate comes with a plywood board at each end which can be removed to facilitate feeding and checks, as needed, while on board.

Assistant Curator Trisha Tay said Le Le has gotten “quite comfortable with the process” and they are confident that it would do well during the transition period.

To ensure its in-flight care and well-being, Le Le will be accompanied by Ms Tay, as well as a veterinarian from Mandai Wildlife Group and a keeper from China, who will be arriving in Singapore about a week prior.

“Our priority is to keep him comfortable, safe and make sure he’s healthy and adjust well to life back in China,” she said.

Following its arrival in Chengdu at about 11.30pm, Le Le will be transported to a quarantine facility in Huaying, Guang’an City in Sichuan Province.

Ms Tay added that they will take the time to brief their Chinese counterparts on Le Le’s favourite activities, its habits, as well the cues, commands and hand signals they used during its training.

LE LE SAYS GOODBYE TO RIVER WONDERS

About 1,000 guests turned up at River Wonders on Wednesday to bid Le Le farewell on its last day in its exhibit at the Pavilion Capital Giant Panda Forest.

Thousands of families in Singapore and international visitors came down to see the panda cub since it was announced that it will be heading to China, where it will join the country’s giant panda conservation programme.

The panda will undergo a month-long quarantine before it makes the journey.

Preparations for Le Le’s separation from its mother Jia Jia began in February, and the two pandas were fully separated on Nov 14.

In a media release in September, Mandai Wildlife Group said that the separation of mothers and cubs is “part and parcel of the life stage progression of giant pandas which are solitary by nature”.

“Le Le had earlier shown increasing signs of independence such as eating, resting and playing on his own, away from mum Jia Jia who had also started to show slight avoidance behaviours such as moving away when he approaches,” they said.

“In the wild, behavioural changes in mother pandas lead to the eventual rejection of their cubs.”

Le Le’s departure “hasn’t quite sunk in” as the team has been busy with preparations, but Ms Tay said it would be bittersweet for most of them.

“Of course, we are sad that he’s leaving, he is our first-ever panda cub born in Singapore, and we watched him grow, from when he was in (Jia Jia’s) womb, all the way to how big he is right now – bigger than most of us,” she said.

“I think we’re sad to see him leave, but we’re also happy for him, that he’s entering his new phase of independence and joining China’s giant panda conservation programme.”

Asked about her most endearing memories with the panda cub, Ms Tay said she has many, including watching it grow up and start crawling.

“When you call him and he comes to you,” she said. “I think that’s one of the sweeter moments, when he actually responds to you and recognises you, besides mummy.”

A paint-by-numbers art piece depicting Le Le will be outside the exhibit between 10am and 2pm from Wednesday to Sunday, during which members of the public can add their artistic strokes to the painting.

“We have watched our giant panda cub grow into the confident, inquisitive and independent bear that he is today,” said Dr Cheng Wen-Haur, Deputy CEO of Life Sciences and Operations and Chief Life Sciences Officer at Mandai Wildlife Group.

“He is adored by all who have had the privilege of caring for him and we are excited to celebrate with him in his continuing role as an ambassador for his species.

“It is so heartening to see people of all walks of life coming together for Le Le, and cheering him on in the next chapter of his life.”

Dr Cheng added that they have been able to mark these milestones in species conservation due to the dedicated animal care and veterinary teams and the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, as well as sponsors Singapore Airlines and Pavilion Capital.