Local-born pandas Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang to leave public display ahead of Chengdu move

[Photo: Yuki Lei]

Macau’s home-grown giant pandas Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang will leave public view early next month, bound for Chengdu in early November on a learning and growth program – with no word yet on when they will return.

Now that the two giant pandas have reached adulthood, Macau and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration have agreed to send Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in October, giving them more room to learn skills for a wild environment and enjoy a richer life, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said earlier this year.

In an update to the media yesterday at the Seac Pai Van Giant Panda Pavilion on their quarantine arrangements and travel preparations, the bureau said that Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang are expected to formally enter the quarantine phase on October 9 and will then be temporarily withdrawn from public view.

The bureau noted that its team has been busy on two fronts: coordinating scheduling with the central authorities and meeting quarantine requirements, including carrying out health checks on the pandas. These checks are conducted through behavioral training, with the veterinary and treatment teams working continuously with Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang on adaptive exercises covering X-rays, blood tests and other procedures.

Chan Hoi Fung, head of the bureau’s Nature Conservation Studies Division, said both pandas were adapting well: “To be frank, they are both young and fond of food, so their overall adaptation is fine.”

The bureau noted that the panda pavilion usually receives around 40,000 visitors a month, but since the announcement that Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang would leave for Chengdu, noticeably more residents have come to “say goodbye” and see them while they still can, leading to a slight increase in visitor numbers in recent months.

The bureau revealed that the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding will send an expert team to Macau to escort the pandas, while keepers and veterinarians will accompany them to Chengdu to oversee the entire transport process.

The flight is expected to take about two to three hours and will initially be arranged as a charter, costing around MOP 700,000.

Mok Weng Ian, another senior official from the bureau’s Nature Conservation Division, will accompany the pandas to the Chengdu base. On transport preparations, she said the team has been conducting targeted training so the pandas can adapt to the transport crates, grow accustomed to staying inside them, and adjust to the vibrations and noise produced while the crates are moved, while also soothing their emotions in the crates. “Their performance so far has been very good – they are very well-behaved,” she said.

The bureau stressed that it has consistently monitored the pandas’ health, with veterinary and expert teams regularly checking their blood pressure and conducting physical examinations. It added that much of its rearing experience was learned in Chengdu, and that it believed the Chengdu team was equally professional.

The return arrangements and follow-up learning plans will be subject to central government arrangements, with no specific date yet set for their return to Macau.

On the overall development of Seac Pai Van, the bureau said the first phase of planning is under way, along with related benchmarking work, with the panda pavilion being one component. The pavilion will be optimized and upgraded in line with the broader plan.

“At present, we do not expect it to close; the work will be carried out in phases and by zone, and for now Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang will continue to live in our panda pavilion.”

Macau has been home to six giant pandas since 2010. The first pair, Kai Kai and Xin Xin, arrived that year; the first Xin Xin died in Macau in 2014, and the first Kai Kai returned to Chengdu in 2015.

The pandas currently in Macau are the second-generation Kai Kai and Xin Xin, which arrived in 2015 after the central government announced in 2014 – marking the 15th anniversary of Macau’s handover – that it would gift the city another pair. Following a rigorous selection, the pair retained the much-loved names Kai Kai and Xin Xin. Their twin sons, Jiang Jiang and Kang Kang, were born on June 26, 2016, becoming the first giant pandas born in Macau.