Fu Bao makes public debut in China as panda center denies abuse allegations

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Fu Bao makes public debut in China as panda center denies abuse allegations

Published: 12 Jun. 2024, 15:08 Updated: 12 Jun. 2024, 16:05

LEE SOO-JUNG
lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr

Fu Bao enjoys her bamboo while lying on a wooden bench in an outdoor enclosure at Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan Province in China on Wednesday. [LEE DO-SUNG]

The first Korean-born giant panda, Fu Bao, made her public debut in China on Wednesday at Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan Province after completing her two-month quarantine.

Fu Bao stepped out to an outdoor enclosure at 9:39 a.m. local time and greeted dozens of cameras and reporters from Korean and local broadcasters gathered to livestream her first public appearance in China.

After roaming around her new playing field, Fu Bao climbed up a wooden bench and started her meal of bamboo.

Her new outdoor lawn extends 300 square meters (3,229 square feet), with around 10 trees providing shade and a low wooden bench where Fu Bao could rest. The field also has a pond where Fu Bao can drink and hydrate herself.

Fu Bao plays with a bamboo-made toy in an outdoor playing field at Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan, China on Wednesday, when she had her first public debut in China. [NEWS1]

Fu Bao is set to meet general visitors starting afternoon on Wednesday.

A Chinese visitor who flew from Hangzhou to see Fu Bao in Sichuan told the JoongAng Ilbo that she was “extremely excited” to see Fu Bao and that she came early in the morning before a huge crowd flocked to the base.

A day before her first meeting with Chinese fans, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda refuted recent allegations that changes in her appearance could be due to the facility’s maltreatment during a press conference on Tuesday.

A Chinese panda keeper taking care of Fu Bao said that the difference in her fur color was related to “her playing behavior of rolling on the ground.” The keeper added that Fu Bao loves to rub her neck and bottom on the fence and wall.

The keeper also said that frequently washing pandas could damage their immune system by stripping naturally produced oil from their fur.

Fu Bao enters an outdoor enclosure for public viewing at Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan Province in China on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

The center said Fu Bao is "adapting well" to her new habitat.

Another keeper said Fu Bao communicated with other pandas through noise and smell during her quarantine and adjustment period. The center is “helping her get familiar with other pandas” that live in nearby rooms.

The center also said it focuses on Fu Bao’s meals, providing her with as much satisfying food as she likes.

The center serves 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of bamboo stems and 10 kilograms of bamboo sprouts daily. In addition, corn snacks, apples and carrots are provided seven times each day.

The center explained that Fu Bao “has not yet reached the age of maturity for mating.”

According to a managerial official from the center, female pandas can conceive cubs at the age of five or older.

The official added that it prioritizes Fu Bao’s physical development, proper nutrition intake and a clean living environment while noting that the selection of Fu Bao's future husband will consider her hereditary factors and family relationships.

The center said a team of two panda keepers, one nutritionist and two veterinarians has provided Fu Bao with dedicated care.

General visitors wait in a queue to see pandas at Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan Province in China on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

At the same time, the Chinese authorities permanently banned four people who illegally filmed Fu Bao during her quarantine period using a telephoto lens and who were previously involved in a physical altercation at the base from entering.

The center reminded visitors of proper etiquette, saying it would “hold people accountable for prohibited livestreaming of areas in the center which are not for public display.”

The panda base also prepared a welcoming ceremony for Fu Bao. Over 20 young adults held placards that read "Our beloved Fu Bao" and "Luck is coming" on Tuesday.

Fu Bao, whose name means “treasure of good fortune," was born on July 20, 2020, at Everland in Yongin, Korea, to parents Le Bao and Ai Bao, pandas sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping in March 2016 as a symbol of friendship between Korea and China.

She was sent to China on April 3 according to Chinese policy that mandates foreign-born pandas to return to China before turning the age of four.