Mainland giant panda pair gifted to Hong Kong make public debut

Two giant pandas gifted to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) by the central government in late September made their grand public debut at Ocean Park on Sunday after a two-month quarantine and adaptation period.

John Lee, chief executive of the HKSAR, said during Saturday's greeting ceremony that he hopes the new residents will provide a better experience for visitors and promote tourism, retail and other industries in Hong Kong.

Around 9:30 am on Sunday, half an hour before the park opened, many giant panda fans wearing giant panda-themed headgear or holding multiple giant panda plush toys were already waiting outside the park, Hong Kong media outlet RTHK reported on Sunday.

The public debut of the pair of pandas named An An and Ke Ke lasted one hour between 10 am and 11 am while they were having their breakfast in the living rooms of their new home at the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures in the park.

Facing the large throng of viewers the other side of the glass wall, the male giant panda An An behaved in his usual easy and calm manner with his usual agile, smart and active character. He enjoyed his bamboo breakfast in his favorite chair in a leisurely manner, a China Central Television (CCTV) live broadcast program showed.

In contrast, the female giant panda Ke Ke appeared much more introvert and timid in front of the crowd. She waited a long time before showing up. The female giant panda has a very poised character and is usually carefree. It took her a long period of adjustment and adaption before she established a connection with her keeper, CCTV reported.

The giant pandas have four meals a day and the public debut was arranged to take place during their breakfast time when they are in their best form, showing a good appetite and willingness to have activities in their living rooms, the CCTV reported citing the park's zookeepers.

Both An An and Ke Ke were born in June 2019. The 5-year-olds have just entered adulthood. The male giant panda An An weighing over 130 kilograms is strong, agile and playful; while the female giant panda Ke Ke weighing about 100 kilograms is skilled at climbing, and has a gentle, charming and affectionate temperament.

The two pandas consume about 10 kilograms of bamboo a day. The types of bamboo they eat have shifted from primarily Sichuan bamboo to mainly Guangdong bamboo. When they still lived at the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Panda in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, they were fed both kinds of bamboo. An An also likes carrots while Ke Ke enjoys sweet potatoes, according to CCTV.

The two pandas have become accustomed to the zookeepers' Cantonese dialect and can understand and communicate with their zookeepers who use either Cantonese dialect or Sichuan dialect, according to CCTV.

A total of six giant pandas are living at Ocean Park. They are An An and Ke Ke and their neighbors Le Le (male) and Ying Ying (female) who arrived at the park in 2009, as well as their twin babies (one male and one female), born in August, 2024.

After An An and Ke Ke arrived in Hong Kong on September 26, they went through a 30-day quarantine period with special care and close observation by the veterinarian team at the park, which was followed by another period of adaption to the new environment.

The park had arranged several rounds of rehearsal of their debut to get them accustomed to large crowds of enthusiastic visitors and giant panda fans.

Ocean Park held the Giant Panda Greeting Ceremony on Saturday before the public debut of the pair of pandas and announced the two pandas will continue to use their original names An An and Ke Ke.

Lee said during the Saturday ceremony that Hong Kong is honored to be the place outside the mainland with the largest number of giant pandas in care. Hong Kong will seize the opportunity brought by the giant pandas to provide a better experience for visitors and promote the tourism, retail and other industries in Hong Kong, Hong Kong-based media Now TV reported.

Zhou Ji, executive deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said during the ceremony that the pair of giant pandas gifted by the central government to Hong Kong once again shows its heartfelt blessings for the people of Hong Kong, as well as its full trust in and steadfast support for Hong Kong.

China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda and the Ocean Park signed a cooperation agreement on August 16, and reached a consensus on continuing collaborative efforts in giant panda conservation and research. According to the agreement, both parties will continue to strengthen cooperation in areas such as breeding management, reproductive research, disease prevention, science popularization education and cultural promotion, in an effort to elevate the conservation and research level of giant pandas and make new contributions to deepening the ties between Hong Kong and the mainland.