by Madrid, May 30 (Xinhua) — Visitors to the Zoo Aquarium in Madrid, Spain, met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries.
Male Jin Xi and female Zhu Yu, both born in 2020, arrived at the zoo last month following the renewal of its agreement for the protection of the giant panda with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. They are expected to remain in Spain for the next 10 years.
The renovation was announced last February, when the park said goodbye to its family of five pandas, who now reside at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base in southwest China’s Sichuan province.
After the new couple’s arrival on April 29, they completed a quarantine period without a hitch. They have been supervised by a technical team made up of a caretaker and a veterinarian from Chengdu who will be in Madrid for the next few months to facilitate their adaptation, according to the zoo.
A 13-year-old visitor named Martin told Xinhua that he is very interested in pandas because “they are an endangered species that we must preserve.” “I like how they climb trees and how they eat bamboo,” he added.
Two young mothers, named Cristina and Nazare, said they had visited the pandas on several occasions and were eager to show Jin Xi and Zhu Yu their children.
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, welcomed the two “new neighbors.” “We are proud to host this unique species and contribute to its preservation,” he said at the official ceremony.
The Chinese ambassador to Spain, Yao Jing, for his part, highlighted that “the friendly bond” created by the pandas will unite the two peoples and serve as “an important symbol of China-Spain friendship.”
The Madrid Zoo Aquarium received its first pair of giant pandas from China in 1978. Four years later, Chu Lin was born, the first panda cub born in captivity in Europe.
The director of the Chengdu Giant Panda Research and Breeding Base, Yin Zhidong, who also attended the ceremony on Thursday, recalled that in the last 17 years six cubs have been successfully raised at the Madrid zoo.
“The cooperation between China and Spain in relation to the giant panda is an example,” he said. “We will work together to care for the new pair and carry out research on reproduction, prevention and disease control, thus positively contributing to the conservation of the giant panda.”
Following the debut of the giant panda pair, zoo visitors can now participate in educational activities every weekend.
“We try to bring information about pandas to the public so they can get to know them better and how we can protect the species,” zoo staff Luis Manchado, head of the educational section, told Xinhua.
According to the zoo, the pair enjoy a mixed diet of more than 60 species of fresh bamboo and tender gourmet shoots. The male currently weighs around 110 kilos and the female 98 kilos.
Giant pandas are known as China’s “cultural ambassadors” to the world. Since the 1990s, China has carried out joint protection research initiatives with 26 institutions in 20 countries and successfully raised 68 giant panda cubs in 41 litters. ■
Photo taken on May 30, 2024 shows female panda Zhu Yu at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Former Queen Sofia of Spain and others watch male panda Jin Xi at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain, May 30, 2024. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Aquarium Zoo on Thursday met a pair of giant pandas from China. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Photo taken on May 30, 2024 shows female panda Zhu Yu at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Photo taken on May 30, 2024 shows female panda Zhu Yu at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Photo taken on May 30, 2024 shows male panda Jin Xi at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Photo taken on May 30, 2024 shows male panda Jin Xi at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
People take photos of male panda Jin Xi at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain, May 30, 2024. Visitors to the Madrid Zoo Aquarium in Spain met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Photo taken on May 30, 2024 shows female panda Zhu Yu at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
China’s ambassador to Spain Yao Jing (R) speaks at an official ceremony for a pair of giant pandas from China at Madrid Zoo, Spain, May 30, 2024. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Aquarium Zoo They met a pair of giant pandas from Porcelain on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Former Spanish queen Sofia holds a giant panda doll at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain, May 30, 2024. Visitors to Spain’s Madrid Zoo Aquarium met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida speaks at an official ceremony for a pair of giant pandas from China at the Madrid Zoo in Madrid, Spain, on May 30, 2024. Visitors to the Madrid Aquarium Zoo in Spain They met a pair of giant pandas from China on Thursday. The new arrivals were received in an official ceremony attended by authorities and experts from both countries. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua)
