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Lo Hoi-ying

Panda Watch is a weekly blog by the Post that tracks the latest on the baby panda twins – the first to be born in Hong Kong – until they are ready to meet the public. See week one here and week two here.
Hong Kong’s baby panda cubs have turned three weeks old and are spending more time with their mother Ying Ying while their black-and-white “vests” have become more solid in colour.
The latest footage released by Ocean Park shows mother Ying Ying safely seeking shelter with “Elder Sister” as Super Typhoon Yagi hit Hong Kong on Thursday evening.
The giant panda is seen tightly embracing and licking the cub, an act which the park says keeps it moist and stimulates defecation.
“Even in adverse weather conditions, our experts and caretakers will continue to take care of the giant pandas 24 hours a day,” the park said.
Ocean Park has been referring to the two cubs as Elder Sister and Little Brother, but their official names have yet to be announced.
Park chairman Paulo Pong Kin-yee had said he would like to involve residents in naming the twins.
Parents Ying Ying and Le Le had their names chosen through a public nomination.

The Home Affairs Bureau gathered more than 6,700 pairs of names, with a five-member panel choosing “Le Le” as the name for the male, which represents happiness, joy and optimism.
They then selected “Ying Ying”, which means abundance, as the best match for the female panda.
Each panda has a unique identification number so it can be tracked and identified for research, according to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Foundation.
The international giant panda pedigree database has a universal naming system for identifying the pandas, which follows a set of rules to show the bears’ relationship with their families.
While most zoos hold contests and polls to select the top names, cubs are not named until they are 100 days old, in accordance with Chinese tradition.
Panda naming has become such a popular process that people use panda name generators to help fans come up with suggestions.
While some pandas are named with reduplicative Chinese words with auspicious meanings, some names also have geographical meanings or are in the same style as their siblings.




Wakayama Adventure World in Japan, currently home to four giant pandas, is famous for producing one of the world’s largest panda families after years of research on panda breeding.
“Super Papa” Eimei has fathered 16 cubs with female pandas Meimei and Rauhin since 1994.
All cubs born in Wakayama have names ending with hin, based on the pronunciation of the kanji character “hama” in Shirahama.
While the first few offspring were named by Shirahama’s mayor, the naming of 13 of the cubs was done through public voting, with the park’s latest addition being Fuhin in 2020.
In South Korea, all pandas have the word bao, the Chinese word for “treasure” in their names.
Chinese President Xi Jinping loaned two giant pandas, Aibao and Lebao, to South Korea in 2016 as part of China’s panda diplomacy.
Aibao and Lebao, whose names mean “lovely treasure” and “pleasant treasure” respectively, gave birth to the female cub Fubao in 2020, which means “lucky treasure”.
Fubao is the first panda born in South Korea and has returned to China this June to a teary farewell.
The couple also gave birth last year to a pair of twins, which were named Ruibao and Huibao, meaning “wise treasure” and “shining treasure”.
The couple are set to return to China in 2031.

Mainland China gifted a pair of pandas, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, to Taiwan in 2008 as a sign of goodwill at a time when relations between the two sides were more cordial.
In a nod to the Chinese Communist Party’s goal of one day reunifying with Taiwan, their names combined mean “reunion” or “unity”.
The names were chosen through public voting by over 100 million mainland residents, according to Chinese authorities.
The couple became huge stars in Taiwan, and Yuan Yuan has since given birth to two female cubs, named Yuan Zai and Yuan Bao, which mean “rice ball” and “round baby”.
Beijing loans pandas to zoos abroad on the condition that offspring are to be returned within a few years of their birth to join the mainland’s breeding programme.
But Taiwan was granted an exception as part of a brief charm offensive Beijing launched in the late 2000s and was gifted Tuan Tuan, Yuan Yuan and any offspring they had.
Diet: Five to eight times per day under human care, 10 grams of milk each time
Development: Black and white vests becoming more pronounced


Elite police motorcyclists to escort 2 new giant pandas from Hong Kong airport to Ocean Park

Panda Watch: Hong Kong cubs put on healthy weight at 5-week mark

Hong Kong’s giant panda twins to be taken out of incubators in 2 weeks, Ocean Park says

Panda Watch: Hong Kong cub shows off strong hind legs ahead of 1-month birth anniversary

Hong Kong’s pandas

Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s cub twins are 3 weeks old and thriving

The fur on “Little Brother” is starting to develop into a panda’s trademark black-and-white coat. Photo: SCMP

“Elder Sister” gets some licks and a cuddle from mum. Photo: Ocean Park

A screengrab of Ying Ying and her cubs from an undated video posted on Thursday. Photo: Instagram/pandahk_official 

Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s cub twins start to develop black-and-white features and sprout fur

Photo: Facebook/Ocean Park Hong Kong

The cub nicknamed “Elder Sister”. Despite being twins, the cubs are growing at different rates, with the girl currently slightly larger than her brother. Photo: Ocean Park

“Little Brother” boasts more pronounced dark patches. Photo: Ocean Park

Ocean Park recently posted a video of Ying Ying being fed a bowl of water sweetened with apples, to encourage her to stay hydrated, recover faster and produce more milk. Photo: Ocean Park

Close watch on Hong Kong’s new panda mum Ying Ying as food tastes change after birth of twins

Ying Ying enjoys a chew on some bamboo.  Photo: Elson Li

Staff are rolling bamboo leaves into small shapes for Ying Ying. Photo: Ocean Park

News

Hong Kong

Hong Kong economy

Panda Watch: tracking the growth of Hong Kong’s baby panda twins

“Little Sister” takes a small nap as she reaches five weeks old. Photo: Handout

“Little Brother” spends time with momma while his sister rests. Photo: Handout

The twins will mark their one-month birthday on Saturday. Photo: Ocean Park

Ocean Park has said it is exploring product ideas to tie-in with the birth of the twins. Photo: Ocean Park

Fu Bao and Everland Resort zookeeper Kang Cheol-won have enjoyed celebrity status in South Korea. Photo: Handout

Panda Watch: wiggling and sucking milk, Hong Kong’s cub twins survive first critical days after birth

The latest photos show the cubs have started to sprout sparse fur on their pink skin. Photo: Facebook/Ocean Park 

Twins are spending more time with mum Ying Ying while their black-and-white fur has become more solid in colour


Twins are spending more time with mum Ying Ying while their black-and-white fur has become more solid in colour.
