It's a boy! Today, Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) confirmed the gender of Singapore's first giant panda cub, born to Kai Kai and Jia Jia on August 14. After close to a month in his mother's attentive care, the cub's gender was finally determined through a series of visual assessments by WRS's panda care team.
The animals even got in on the viral gender reveal party trend. Proud father Kai Kai made the announcement as part of his early 14th birthday celebrations, where he tugged on an enrichment gift to release a shower of blue confetti and carrots in his exhibit at the Giant Panda Forest. Talk about a top-notch birthday present.
Jia Jia will continue to rest and bond with her cub, while carers slowly reintroduce conditioning sessions via positive reinforcement training to work up to a cub retrieval. Only then will they be able to conduct thorough health checks to ensure the baby is in tip-top health. Meanwhile, we can admire the adorable pictures of the newborn baby as we look forward to his fur fully coming in within the next few weeks, and his eyes finally opening to the world.
Want to help welcome and celebrate this bundle of joy? You can play a part in naming the newborn cub before it turns 100 days old on November 21 this year. WRS is looking for members of the public to suggest catchy and memorable names for the baby boy. It should carry positive meanings and attributes, and echo Singapore's heritage and culture as well as our friendship with China. You have until September 19, 11.59pm to enter your submission, so put your thinking caps on. For more details about how to enter, visit wrs.com.sg/pandacub.