Giant pandas Yi Lan and Xing Qiu have frolicked joyfully for the first time in their new home at Adelaide Zooâs Bamboo Forest, as dignitaries and visitors welcomed the pair to their new life in Australia.
After an official welcome ceremony on Tuesday led by SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian, crowds streamed into the pandasâ new home to see them explore their surroundings.
The journey of Yi Lan, 3, and Xing Qiu, 4, began on December 16, when they boarded a flight from Dujiangyan in China to Adelaide, and then spent a month in quarantine before officially becoming the only giant pandas on display in the southern hemisphere.
The pair replaced Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who arrived in Adelaide in 2009.
They returned to China in November after being adored by millions of visitors, but were ultimately unsuccessful in delivering on hopes they would become parents.
Adelaide Zoo director Phil Ainsley said the quarantine period had given vets and keepers an opportunity to learn about the pandasâ personalities.
He said Yi Lan was âan incredibly cheeky young pandaâ while Xing Qiu was âquite relaxed and is very happy munching on bamboo shootsâ.
âHe has an amazing appetite and a taste for our Adelaide-grown bamboo varieties, eating around 30kg a day.â
The pandas will remain in separate, adjacent enclosures and keepers wonât consider bringing them together for breeding purposes until theyâre aged at least seven.
Both animals crept out cautiously into their new outdoor environments to begin exploring.
Xing Qiu did not linger for long, heading to his indoor enclosure for a nap before later returning to the delight of their first visitors.
But Yi Lan was more adventurous, ripping apart her enrichment box to access the panda cake, apple and carrot inside.
The pandas were a powerful symbol of strong diplomatic relations between Australia and China, Mr Malinauskas said.
âItâs a great occasion, particularly for young South Australians, to witness the extraordinary beauty and magnificence of two majestic animals,â he said.
âI understand Yi Lan is a particularly playful and feisty lady, and that Xing Qiu is indeed a handsome fellow with an auspiciously round head, which is a good thing.â
Mr Xing noted that efforts to save their species had meant their population had grown from âless than several hundred to over two thousandâ.
âWeâre not (just) celebrating the continuation of joint panda conservation, but also symbolically, the continuation of the friendly and co-operative relationship between our two countries and two peoples,â he said.
âWe have successfully stabilised our relationship, consolidated that good momentum, and we made a successful turnaround in our bilateral ties.â
Beef, wine, barley and seafood, particularly lobster, were now being traded with China in âextraordinary volumesâ, Mr Malinauskas said.
Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farell said trade with China had reached a record $327 billion last year âand itâs overwhelmingly in Australiaâs favour by about $100 billionâ.
He said the screaming that could be heard in the Bamboo Forest was from his youngest grandson, Leo, because when he arrived at the pandasâ enclosure, âthis young lady here (Yi Lin) was climbing up that tree, and what a treat to see on the first day that theyâve been released out of captivityâ.
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Abe Maddison
(Australian Associated Press)
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