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Lo Hoi-ying

Panda Watch is a weekly blog by the Post that tracks the latest on the baby panda twins – the first to be born in Hong Kong – until they are ready to meet the public. To read our previous blog entries, click here.
Hong Kong’s giant panda cubs are starting to get a little heavier as they reach five weeks of age, with their weight increasing by more than seven times.
According to Ocean Park, “Elder Sister” now comes in at 910 grams, up from her birthweight of 122 grams, while “Little Brother” has gone from 112 grams to 814 grams.
The park also shared its latest update on the pair, with the eldest shown sticking out her tongue. Her sibling, meanwhile, was spending time with their mother, Ying Ying.
Experts at the resort noted giant panda cubs only start confidently eating solid foods at about 2½ years of age.
“Before the full transition, cubs will slowly begin to try solid foods such as bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots starting from around nine months to one year old,” they said.
The park said earlier in the week that carers for a separate pair of giant pandas, gifted by Beijing to Hong Kong, had started incorporating Guangzhou-sourced bamboos into the bears’ diets.




The two pandas were in quarantine in Sichuan province ahead of the move, but slow adjustments to their diet could help them better adapt to their new home in Hong Kong, it said.
The bamboo is sourced from the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou, which is also home to 14 giant pandas, including the world’s first panda triplets born in 2014.
According to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, 99 per cent of a giant panda’s diet consists of bamboos, which provides essential nutrients.
They consume more than 60 species of bamboos, while wild giant pandas occasionally consume small amounts of animal carcasses, honey and other plants.
Arrow bamboo is one of the most popular kinds, while other common species include cane or large-leaved bamboos, most of which are native to the country.
Such bamboo thrives in dark coniferous forests or evergreen ones with altitudes ranging from 700m (2,297 feet) to 3,500m.
Wild giant panda diets can vary based on habitat and season, with different types and parts of bamboo plants being eaten throughout the year.
The bears typically prefer different types of bamboo shoots during the spring and summer months, while autumn sees them eating the leaves as their main food before developing a hankering for the plant’s stalks in the winter.
The low nutritional value of the plant also means pandas have to consume it in large quantities.

A panda on a daily basis can eat up to 40kg of bamboo shoots, 14kg of leaves or 17kg of stalks.
Pandas also exhibit vertical migration habits when faced with changes in climate or food distribution, moving to higher mountains in summer to forage for bamboo shoots before travelling back down during the autumn and winter months.
Meanwhile, pandas raised in captivity mainly eat selected types of lowland bamboos, such as arrow and cane bamboos.
Their diet also includes a formula of grains, fruits and vitamins to combat potential nutritional deficiencies or imbalances that can arise from being unable to forage freely.
Studies in recent years have shown that providing giant pandas with highland or subalpine bamboo species is vital to their health and normal reproduction.
Developments in logistics and transport have also made it easier to supply large quantities of such bamboos to pandas in captivity.
Big Sister’s weight: 910 grams
Little Brother’s weight: 814 grams
Development: Ready to leave the incubator in two weeks and move into a cot


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A screengrab of Ying Ying and her cubs from an undated video posted on Thursday. Photo: Instagram/pandahk_official 

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Hong Kong

Society

Panda Watch: twin cubs set to make public debut in Hong Kong on February 16

“Elder Sister” (left) and “Younger Brother” are set to meet the Hong Kong public on February 16. Photo: May Tse

“Younger Brother” has chosen a log as his favourite spot in Ocean Park’s Giant Panda Adventure enclosure. Photo: May Tse

“Elder Sister” (right) enjoys lazing and napping on a fork of branches on a tree. Photo: May Tse

Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s twin cubs to make public debut after Lunar New Year

“Elder Sister” (left) and “Younger Brother” have recently started playing and climbing around their enclosure, crawling on grass, climbing up rocks and clawing at trees. Photo: Ocean Park

“Younger Brother” plays with his toys. Photo: Ocean Park

Despite taking an early tumble, “Elder Sister” has learned to enjoy playing on the slide set up by zookeepers. Photo: Ocean Park

Panda Watch: twin cubs start crawling ahead of first Christmas at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park

‘Younger Brother’ has started crawling around his den. Photo: Instagram/ pandahk_official

‘Elder Sister’ and ‘Younger Brother’ have been bonding by playing with one another. Photo: Instagram/ pandahk_official

Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s twin cubs weigh 40 times more than at birth

Hong Kong’s panda cubs. Photo: Instagram/pandahk_official

‘‘Younger Brother” tips the scale at 5.5kg from 112 grams at birth. Photo: Instagram/pandahk_official

Hong Kong’s panda twin cubs will be given ‘caring training’ at 2 to 3 years old

Hong Kong’s panda cubs. Photo: Instagram/ pandahk_official

Male giant panda An An is already undergoing “caregiving training” at the park. Photo: Oscar Liu

Howard Chuk, Ocean Park’s head of zoological operations and conservation, outside the panda enclosure. Photo: Oscar Liu

Panda Watch: how can Hong Kong cash in on panda economy as cubs reach milestone?

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Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s twin cubs ready for 100-day milestone, with festivities planned

Ocean Park will roll out new merchandise and give out free food on November 23 and 24 to celebrate the 100th day of Hong Kong’s twin cubs. Photo: Ocean Park

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Panda Watch: Hong Kong cubs near 3-month mark, entering exciting and playful phase

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Ke Ke, one of the two adult giant pandas gifted to the city by Beijing. Photo: Instagram. 

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Adult giant panda, An An, enjoying a snack of bamboo. Photo: Instagram

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‘Big Sister’ has black patches around her eyes that look like eyeliner, says zookeeper Elke Wu. Photo: Ocean Park

The tails of “Big Sister” (left) and “Little Brother” have grown rounder and will appear to vanish as they grow older. Photo: Ocean Park

“Little Brother” has louder shrieks than his sister, who is gentler and quieter, zookeeper Elke Wu says. Photo: Ocean Park

Panda Watch: Hong Kong cub twins happier and healthier at 2 months old

Ocean Park shares its latest pictures of “Elder Sister” and “Little Brother”. Photo: Ocean Park Hong Kong

The two panda cubs have come a long way since they were born in August. Photo: Ocean Park Hong Kong

Panda Watch: Hong Kong cubs starting to develop their own distinctive features

Elder Sister (left) and Little Brother. Photo: Ocean Park

Panda-themed merchandise at Ocean Park. Photo: Jelly Tse

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Normally, one cub spends time with a caretaker as the other is nursed by Ying Ying, who is learning the ropes of motherhood. Photo: Ocean Park

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The cubs’ eyes have yet to fully open, but “separation” between the upper and lower eyelids has begun. Photo: Instagram/pandahk_official

The cubs’ have delighted fans with their playful behaviour on social media. Photo: Instagram/pandahk_official

Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s cub twins start to develop black-and-white features and sprout fur

Photo: Facebook/Ocean Park Hong Kong

The cub nicknamed “Elder Sister”. Despite being twins, the cubs are growing at different rates, with the girl currently slightly larger than her brother. Photo: Ocean Park

“Little Brother” boasts more pronounced dark patches. Photo: Ocean Park

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Panda Watch: wiggling and sucking milk, Hong Kong’s cub twins survive first critical days after birth

The latest photos show the cubs have started to sprout sparse fur on their pink skin. Photo: Facebook/Ocean Park 

Panda Watch: Hong Kong’s Ying Ying cares for twin cubs together for first time

Panda mum Ying Ying is caring for her twin cubs together for the first time. Photo: Ocean Park

But experts say giant panda cubs will only start to eat more solid food at about 2½ years of age


But experts say giant panda cubs will only start to eat more solid food at about 2½ years of age.


Panda Watch weekly blog

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Panda Watch: Hong Kong cub twins put on healthy weight at 5-week mark

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}But experts say giant panda cubs will only start to eat more solid food at about 2½ years of age

But experts say giant panda cubs will only start to eat more solid food at about 2½ years of age