【ありがとうシャンシャン】中国に返還へ 日本中を笑顔にした約5年8か月の歩み

On February 21st, giant panda Xiang Xiang will be returned to China, its rightful owner. On the 19th, she was exhibited for the final time at Ueno Zoo, attended by approximately 2,600 people who won a pre-opening lottery. We look back on Xiang Xiang's journey, which has brought smiles to people all over Japan with her adorable appearance in the five years and eight months since her birth in 2017. Xiang Xiang was born on June 12th, 2017, to Ri Ri (male) and Shin Shin (female), who were 11 years old at the time. Keeper Saito Keishi, who was present at the birth, recalled, "We believed she was pregnant, and proceeded with the animal care and preparations. Signs first appeared between the late night of June 11th and 12th. Keepers and veterinarians were taking turns staying overnight to observe her, and I was one of those staying overnight. She was clearly behaving differently than usual, so I quickly called everyone involved and asked them to come over." At a physical examination five days after birth, the baby was found to be small enough to fit in the hand, weighing 178.9g and measuring 16.4cm in length. However, on the 10th day after birth, it was discovered that she was a female, and her black and white "panda coloring" was evident. About two months after birth, she was able to crawl. She continued to grow rapidly, and in September 2017, from a record number of over 320,000 applications, her name was chosen as "Xiang Xiang." In December of the same year, she became the first Ueno-born panda in 29 years to be shown to the public, and live footage of the panda enclosure was streamed live on the website. Her growth was reported daily, and a flurry of related merchandise was released, sparking a Xiang Xiang fever. She celebrated her first birthday in June 2018, and staff members gave her a handmade hammock as a gift. Saito said, "We considered giving Xiang Xiang an ice cake or something like that as a present, but we wanted something that would last longer and not just be used for the day, something that would encourage Xiang Xiang to act out her best, so we decided on a hammock. The zookeepers wove a fire hose into the hammock in their spare time," he explained, adding that they had been trying to give Xiang Xiang a variety of gifts so that she would have as many experiences as possible as she grew. By her third birthday in June 2020, she had grown to weigh 81.4 kg, close to the size of an adult panda. She was given a birthday cake made with her favorite items such as apples, panda dumplings, and vegetable juice ice. She was originally scheduled to be returned to China when she was two years old, but this was postponed five times due to the impact of the new coronavirus, and she left Ueno Zoo at the age of five years and eight months. On the final day of viewing, a staff member who responded to an interview commented, "We consider it our mission to safely return Xiang Xiang to China. We have one more day to care for her, but we hope to use that time to properly care for her and send her safely to China." He added, "This will be Xiang Xiang's first time overseas, but we hope she quickly adapts to her new environment, finds a good mate in a calm environment, and gives birth to offspring." Xiang Xiang will be returned to China on February 21st. #XiangXiang #Panda #UenoZoo #NTV #News ◇NTV News Bureau Social Media Facebook   / ntvnews24   Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ntv_news24/... TikTok   / ntv.news   Twitter   / news24ntv   ◇[Latest News LIVE Streaming] NTV NEWS HP https://news.ntv.co.jp