TAIPEI: Visitors gathered at Taipei Zoo on Sunday (Aug 30) to celebrate the 22nd birthday of Yuan Yuan, the female giant panda gifted by the Chinese mainland to Taiwan.
The zoo prepared a small train-themed "cake", sugarcane "candles" shaped to make the number "22", and bite-sized pieces of carrots and grapes as her birthday meal.
The meal was tailored to Yuan Yuan's dietary preferences, with careful attention to ingredient combinations and behavioral enrichment to encourage her to forage, grab and chew her food independently, according to the zoo.
Yuan Yuan seemed to like the "candles" most.
Large numbers of visitors came to the zoo to wish Yuan Yuan a happy birthday, and the celebration was also shared online.
At 22, Yuan Yuan is considered elderly for a giant panda.
During her annual health checkup last November, the zoo found that the functions of her major organs, including her heart and digestive system, remained generally stable, but signs of aging had emerged in her eyes, kidneys and spine.
The zoo has since placed her under enhanced senior care and closer observation, incorporating age-related changes into her routine health-monitoring records.
Yuan Yuan and her male companion Tuan Tuan, both four years old at the time, arrived in Taipei as goodwill gifts from the mainland in 2008.
Since then, the zoo has worked closely with mainland conservation institutions on breeding, physiology and veterinary care, with experts and staff making continuous visits and exchanging technical expertise.
The pair had two female offspring, Yuan Zai and Yuan Bao, born in 2013 and 2020, respectively. Tuan Tuan died of illness in November 2022 at the age of 18. - Xinhua
