At present, there are six giant pandas in Ocean Park, cared for by a team of 30 people. The pandas, An An and Ke Ke, are currently under quarantine at Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures.
Speaking at a media briefing today (Oct 3), Ocean Park's Head of Animal and Conservation, Howard Chuk, said that An An and Ke Ke are now in the 30-day quarantine period, and will need about one month to adapt to the new environment.
It is believed that the animals will be able to meet the public in December this year. As for the exact time, it will be decided according to their adaptation situation, he added.
The Assistant Curator said that An An and Ke Ke are now eating four meals a day at regular intervals, and that the proportion of Cantonese bamboos compared to Sichuan bamboos in their diet has risen from 30%- 40% to 60%-70%.
Leung Ka-lun, Assistant Curator of the Ocean Park Animal Department, who is currently responsible for taking care of An An and Ke Ke, said that during the sound adaptation training, the caretakers will mainly use Cantonese, but for the time being, they will continue to use their original language to call the animals, calling them "An An" in Putonghua and "Ke Ke" in Sichuan, which is similar to the sound of "call call".
He said he is confident that in the future, they will be familiarized with their new names by means of rewarding them with food, and so on. He also pointed out that An An is active and eager to explore and is more "greedy for food", while Ke Ke is more sensitive and needs more time to adapt to the new environment.
In terms of their health condition, Leung said that their food intake, defecation rate and rest time are all close to the level they had at the Sichuan panda base.
Chuk emphasized that the weather in Hong Kong is hotter than that in Sichuan, so the giant panda house is now an indoor house to maintain a temperature of 18 to 24 degrees Celsius, which is the optimal temperature for the giant pandas to live in.
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