HONG KONG (AP) – Panda craze has once again gripped Hong Kong as residents compete to name the territory’s first locally-born giant panda cubs who just turned six months old.
The competition to name the twin cubs, born on August 15 last year, launched on Saturday following a celebratory ceremony at Ocean Park, the theme park that houses the twins, their parents and two other giant pandas that arrived from mainland China last year. Residents can submit their suggestions via the park’s website.
The southern city now has the largest number of pandas in captivity outside of mainland China, and the cubs’ names would be announced in the first half of this year.
The pair are currently identified as the ‘Elder Sister’ and the ‘Little Brother’. During a media preview session on Saturday, the male cub laid on a swing playing with a tree stick before a carer placed him on a slide. The female cub explored the enclosure before climbing onto a tree.
The panda carers said the female cub seemed more active than her male twin. She loves climbing the tree inside the enclosure and resting there while her brother likes to wander around and play with the plants. The male cub has been marked with two purple food-colouring spots on its back to distinguish it from his sister.
The birth of the baby pandas last year made their mother Ying Ying the world’s oldest first-time panda mum. Their popularity on social media also raised hopes for the city’s tourism boost. Officials have encouraged businesses to capitalise on the panda craze to seize opportunities in what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economy”.
