The pièce de résistance of our trip up north to the Singapore River Safari was this lovely date with Kai Kai (凯凯) & Jia Jia (嘉嘉).
Both Neeti and I had this unspoken but overwhelming urge to see a panda once in our lifetime and we were heartbroken when we missed an opportunity to see this gentle and magnificent being when we were on our Chinese sojourn in 2013. But, Lady Luck has smiled on us, on this trip...
Giant pandas were once found in various regions of China and across South East Asia - Vietnam and Myanmar. Today, they can only be found in the remote forests and mountainous regions of China's Yangtze Basin. Due to deforestation, giant panda numbers have dwindled, there are only about 1600 of them today, and they have become more elusive
Before we made our way into the Giant Panda gallery, we passed through the chambers of the Red Panda...
The Red Panda is closely related to the weasel, raccoon and skunk families but is unrelated to the Giant Panda...
Found all through the Himalayas into the mountains of Yunan and Sichuan, the red panda is incidentally the state animal of Sikkim, in North East India...
The red panda was perched on a branch and was enjoying his siesta, oblivious of the crowds waiting to catch a glimpse...
And finally, we head to meet Kai Kai and Jia Jia...
The panda exhibit is a 1,500 square metre domed roof enclosure. A temperature of 18 to 22°C is maintained in the enclosure to simulate the cool temperatures of the pandas' natural habitat. Humidity is also maintained at 50-60%
Giant pandas have been a part of Chinese folklore for centuries...
The Chinese adored this gentle giant, regarding them as a symbol of peace. Considered symbols of might and bravery, the early Chinese emperors kept them to ward off evil spirits and natural disasters and warriors were often compared to giant pandas...
It was said that when two armies met in a battle, and if one army displayed a flag with the markings of the giant panda, "zhou yu", the battle would be halted as according to the ancient principles of war, the panda was the symbol of peace and friendship...
Tibetan folklore tells an interesting story on how the giant pandas got their unique colors.
A long time ago, all giant pandas were white. One day, a prowling leopard attacked a panda cub. A shepherdess tried saving the cub, but she was killed by the leopard.
In mourning, the pandas wore customary black armbands at her funeral. As they wept, they wiped their eyes with their armbands, covered their ears to block off the sounds of crying and hugged one another. The armbands blackened their fur and that’s how they became black and white!
Kai Kai and Jia Jia will each need to consume about 20kg of bamboo every day!
Kai Kai and Jia Jia belong to China. They were gifted by China to Singapore to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Sino-Singapore relations in 2010. Technically, it is a 10-year loan of the pair.
A 6-month nationwide contest was held after the announcement in 2010 to name this pair of pandas. With nearly a thousand names to choose from, the panel of judges from Singapore and China eventually picked "Kai Kai" (凯凯) - 'victorious' for the male panda and "Jia Jia" (嘉嘉) - 'beautiful' and 'fine' for the female panda.
Incidentally, the word "Jia" also shares the same phonetic pronunciation as the Chinese character '加', part of Singapore's Chinese name (新加坡).
So, on September 5, 2012, Kai Kai and Jia Jia made their journey from their home at the Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base in Chengdu, Sichuan... They took a Singapore Airlines Cargo Boeing 747-400 freighter from Chengdu to Singapore, a distance of 3700 kilometres.... The freighter aircraft bore the registration - 9V-SFP (P for Pandas!).
On board, Kai Kai and Jia Jia were treated as VIPs (Very Important Pandas!), cabin temperature was maintained between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius, ‘inflight meals’ of bamboo, fruit and water were provided and a team of five keepers and vets from both China and Singapore were also on board.
That's called travelling first class, panda style!
Kai Kai merrily lazed around eating bamboo...
And after a while, he tried to get on to a bamboo platform...
A smiling Kai Kai...
Kai Kai was so adorable...
Jia Jia, the female panda was a bit shy...
Jia Jia kept pacing around her enclosure, resting in parts...
Jia Jia was oblivious of the excited crowds watching her...
Our memories of our date with the gentle and adorable Kai Kai and Jia Jia will always be there for us to cherish, in this short video...
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