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- SICHUAN NETWORK NEWS -
SNEAK PEEK: GIANT PANDAS JIA JIA & KAI KAI TO MEET THE SINGAPORE PUBLIC SOON by special correspondent MA HUAQING
After giant pandas Jia Jia & Kai Kai, both on loan from Sichuan, arrived in Singapore in early September this year and went through the quarantine period,
they will soon meet the Singapore public on November 29.
So how is the pair of giant pandas adapting to the Singapore lifestyle?
And what expectation does Singapore have for them?
Let's follow the camera of our special correspondent and take a sneak peek!
River Safari is the new home of Jia Jia & Kai Kai in Singapore.
The Giant Panda Forest is a 1500 square-metre enclosure, and is part of the Yangtze River Habitat.
River Safari is developed at a cost of 160 million SGD (800 million RMB),
and is located next to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari.
It is Wildlife Reserves Singapore's brand new theme park scheduled to open next year.
In order to make it in time for the December school holidays in Singapore,
the Giant Panda Forest will open to the public on November 29 ahead of schedule.
In order to see Jia Jia & Kai Kai,
children aged 3 to 12 years have to purchase admission tickets at 16 SGD (80 RMB) per person,
while adults have to pay 25 SGD (125 RMB) per person.
Tickets to the Giant Panda Forest will be on sale starting 8:30AM on November 29, at the Singapore Zoo ticketing counters.
Besides Jia Jia & Kai Kai, visitors can also see other wild animals from China here, including the red pandas.
Not only are there hill and water, bamboos can also be seen almost everywhere.
The entire indoor environment was constructed to simulate giant pandas' natural habitat in Sichuan.
River Safari told us that in order to ensure the comfort of the pair of giant pandas,
indoor temperature is always maintained at 18 - 22 degree Celsius,
while humidity is always maintained at 50 - 60%.
Jia Jia & Kai Kai can take a stroll in the yard outside every morning.
So, how are they adapting to Singapore lifestyle?
Personality-wise, Jia Jia is playful and affectionate while Kai Kai is obedient.
There were media reports in the past that the two giant pandas were so used to the Sichuan dialect that they could not understand English after arriving in Singapore.
Mr Ang disagrees, however. He points out that the "universal language" of animals is food.
Jia Jia likes to eat carrots while Kai Kai likes to eat apples.
Jia Jia's favourite pastime is carrying bamboo up a tree to munch, or simply eat them on-the-go,
while Kai Kai likes to sleep after eating and eat again after that.
The handsome guy sleeping soundly over there is no other than Kai Kai.
Every day, Jia Jia and Kai Kai are each given 30kg of bamboo to eat,
the weight of which is equivalent to 100 bowls of rice.
However, each panda only consumes about 20kg of bamboo daily.
Currently, Jia Jia and Kai Kai are consuming bamboo grown locally in Singapore, and there is no need to transport bamboo to Singapore by air from Sichuan.
Jia Jia will turn 5 years old next year and Singapore hopes to see Kai Kai and her giving birth to a little panda cub.
But due to the temperature-controlled environment in the Giant Panda Forest,
it is impossible to simulate seasonal temperature changes in Sichuan.
Hence, they will need to find out if such conditions can increase the pandas' chances of mating.