Hong Kong welcomed a brand unusual pair of massive pandas gifted by Beijing on Thursday with a lavish ceremony, elevating hopes for a take to the metropolis’s tourism.
An An and Ke Ke are the third pair of big pandas to be sent to the metropolis from mainland China for the reason that aged British colony returned to Chinese language rule in 1997. Their arrival came after their unusual neighbor, Ying Ying, gave delivery to twins final month and grew to became the world’s oldest first-time panda mother on file.
With the addition of the unusual bears, the twins, and their father, Le Le, Hong Kong now properties six pandas.
GIANT PANDA CELEBRATES HER 20TH BIRTHDAY IN TAIWAN: ‘FUNNY AND CUTE’
Chief Govt John Lee on Tuesday said An An is a 5-yr-dilapidated male panda who’s agile, sparkling and active, whereas Ke Ke, a 5-yr-dilapidated female, is factual at climbing, cute and has a relaxed temperament.
The unusual arrivals will undergo two months of quarantine and adapt to their unusual dwelling at Ocean Park, a zoo and aquarium that has lengthy been a favourite of residents and vacationers. Lee expressed hope that the general public would maybe presumably also meet the unusual bears in mid-December.
In October, the govtwill invite residents to propose unusual names that showcase the pandas’ characteristics.
Tourism enterprise representatives are optimistic referring to the aptitude affect of housing six pandas, hoping it would maybe presumably perhaps boost visitor numbers in Hong Kong. Officials have encouraged companies to capitalize on the recognition of the unusual bears and newborn cubs to take alternatives in what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economic system.”
Pandas are broadly regarded as China’s unofficial national mascot. The nation’s big panda mortgage program with abroad zoos has lengthy been seen as a tool of Beijing’s soft-vitality diplomacy. Giant pandas are easiest level to in China’s southwest and their population is below chance from pattern.
However caring for pandas in captivity is pricey. A zoo in Finland agreed with Chinese language authorities to return two loaned big pandas to China more than eight years ahead of agenda on myth of they were too costly for the ability to protect amid declining net page visitors.
Hong Kong’s Ocean Park has been net net hosting pandas since 1999, when the first pair, An An and Jia Jia, arrived within the monetary hub shortly after it turned into as soon as handed back to China.
Jia Jia, who died at 38 in 2016, is the world’s oldest-ever panda to have lived in captivity. The average lifespan for a panda within the wild is eighteen to Two decades, whereas in captivity it’s 30 years, per the Guinness World Records.
