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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. To read our previous blog entries, click here.
Hong Kong’s giant panda cubs are starting to get a little heavier as they reach five weeks of age, with their weight increasing by more than seven times.
According to Ocean Park, “Elder Sister” now comes in at 910 grams, up from her birthweight of 122 grams, while “Little Brother” has gone from 112 grams to 814 grams.
The park also shared its latest update on the pair, with the eldest shown sticking out her tongue. Her sibling, meanwhile, was spending time with their mother, Ying Ying.
Experts at the resort noted giant panda cubs only start confidently eating solid foods at about 2½ years of age.
“Before the full transition, cubs will slowly begin to try solid foods such as bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots starting from around nine months to one year old,” they said.
The park said earlier in the week that carers for a separate pair of giant pandas, gifted by Beijing to Hong Kong, had started incorporating Guangzhou-sourced bamboos into the bears’ diets.




The two pandas were in quarantine in Sichuan province ahead of the move, but slow adjustments to their diet could help them better adapt to their new home in Hong Kong, it said.
The bamboo is sourced from the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, which is also home to 14 giant pandas, including the world’s first panda triplets born in 2014.
According to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 99 per cent of a giant panda’s diet consists of bamboos, which provides essential nutrients.
They consume more than 60 species of bamboos, while wild giant pandas occasionally consume small amounts of animal carcasses, honey and other plants.
Arrow bamboo is one of the most popular kinds, while other common species include cane or large-leaved bamboos, most of which are native to the country.
Such bamboo thrives in dark coniferous forests or evergreen ones with altitudes ranging from 700m (2,297 feet) to 3,500m.
Wild giant panda diets can vary based on habitat and season, with different types and parts of bamboo plants being eaten throughout the year.
The bears typically prefer different types of bamboo shoots during the spring and summer months, while autumn sees them eating the leaves as their main food before developing a hankering for the plant’s stalks in the winter.
The low nutritional value of the plant also means pandas have to consume it in large quantities.

A panda on a daily basis can eat up to 40kg of bamboo shoots, 14kg of leaves or 17kg of stalks.
Pandas also exhibit vertical migration habits when faced with changes in climate or food distribution, moving to higher mountains in summer to forage for bamboo shoots before travelling back down during the autumn and winter months.
Meanwhile, pandas raised in captivity mainly eat selected types of lowland bamboos, such as arrow and cane bamboos.
Their diet also includes a formula of grains, fruits and vitamins to combat potential nutritional deficiencies or imbalances that can arise from being unable to forage freely.
Studies in recent years have shown that providing giant pandas with highland or subalpine bamboo species is vital to their health and normal reproduction.
Developments in logistics and transport have also made it easier to supply large quantities of such bamboos to pandas in captivity.
Big Sister’s weight: 910 grams
Little Brother’s weight: 814 grams
Development: Ready to leave the incubator in two weeks and move into a cot


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

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

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 

News

Hong Kong

Society

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

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 

But experts say giant panda cubs will only start to eat more solid food at about 2½ years of age


But experts say giant panda cubs will only start to eat more solid food at about 2½ years of age.


Ocean Park

Hong Kong tourism

Pandas