Nuan Nuan makes debut in Sichuan

PETALING JAYA: With a “voice­over” video, Malaysian-born baby panda Nuan Nuan made her debut at the Dujiangyan Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province, China, after a month-long quarantine.

With subtitles acting as her “voiceover”, the video showed the cub frolicking in her new home as well as “talking” about herself, her family in Malaysia and even her hope of training to be “Kung Fu Panda”.

“I think I have the potential to be a Kung Fu Panda,” she “said” through the video uploaded by China’s Xinhua news agency during her first public appearance on Thursday.

The 90-second video has the cub introducing herself as a “two-year-old girl, chubby but pretty”, who was born in Zoo Negara and whose parents are still living in Malaysia.

“A month-long quarantine finally finished. It’s my debut in Sichuan after returning from Malaysia,” the subtitles said.

Just like when she was in Malaysia, Nuan Nuan’s favourite food is still carrots.

“I am getting familiar with my keeper who used to be my mummy’s (keeper),” the subtitles said as the video showed Nuan Nuan’s ­balancing act on parallel bars.

Her keeper Liu Juan was ­reported as saying that while Nuan Nuan was outgoing, she did not like the bamboo shoots usually favoured by other pandas.

Dujiangyan city government recently held a special New Year gathering for Nuan Nuan and issued the cub with the world’s first panda identity card.

More will be issued to every giant panda living in the city.

Nuan Nuan was born within 15 months of the arrival of her ­parents, Xing Xing and Liang Liang, in Malaysia on a 10-year loan.

The two giant pandas came on May 21, 2014, to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China.