Newborn Baby 'Panda' Faces a Bittersweet Farewell in 4 to 5 Years

The appearance of a newborn baby panda and its mother, Ai Bao (Photo provided by Everland)

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] The world-renowned endangered species, the giant panda, was born at Everland on the 20th. This is the first time a panda has been born in South Korea.

Everland announced that on the night of the 20th, a baby panda was born to the only pair of pandas in the country: the female Aibao (7 years old) and the male Lubao (8 years old).

Aibao and Lubao came to Everland Panda World in March 2016, flying about 2,400 km from the panda base in Sichuan Province, China. They were sent as a pair by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the time as a symbol of Korea-China friendship.

It is estimated that only about 1,800 pandas remain in the wild. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the panda as a 'Vulnerable (VU)' species, indicating its rarity. Their average lifespan is 20 to 25 years.

Besides their native habitat in China, pandas live in about 20 countries including South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

Currently, it is understood that only about 50 pandas live outside China. China also uses a policy called 'panda diplomacy,' gifting pandas when establishing diplomatic relations with major countries.

Unfortunately, even though the adorable baby panda was born in South Korea, ownership belongs to China. It is known that the baby panda will stay with its mother for 4 to 5 years and then be sent to China around the time it becomes independent to adapt to the natural environment.

All pandas worldwide are owned by China and are lent to foreign countries as gifts. Because it is a lease, South Korea reportedly pays about 1 million USD annually per pair to China as rental fees.

Nevertheless, due to the immense popularity of pandas, it is expected that the number of visitors to Everland Panda World will increase. Since 2016, more than 9.5 million people have visited Everland Panda World to see Aibao and Lubao, showing great affection for them.

(Graphic: Everland)

Pandas are known to have difficulty with pregnancy and childbirth, making the birth of this baby panda even more meaningful. Pandas have only one fertile period per year, usually lasting just 1 to 3 days around March to April.

If mating is successful during March to April, the pregnancy lasts about 4 months, with birth occurring around July to August. This is why most pandas on Earth have birthdays concentrated in this period.

In particular, pandas give birth to very small cubs compared to other bears, with newborns weighing about 1/800 to 1/900 of the adult weight, making early health care especially important.

Moreover, due to the solitary nature of pandas, they live apart and only meet during the breeding season, making successful mating even less likely.

Everland Zoo explained that they regularly switched the rooms of Aibao and Lubao to help them get used to each other's scent, provided nutritious food made from grains, and thoroughly managed their physical condition.

They also scientifically analyzed accumulated hormone change data from regular health checkups including blood and urine tests to select the optimal mating day with the highest chance of success, and finally succeeded in natural mating of the panda couple at the end of March this year.

Everland has prepared a special enclosure inside Panda World to ensure the baby panda grows up healthy, and since the baby's health is the top priority, it will remain closed to the public for the time being.

According to panda experts and overseas cases from the United States and Japan, baby pandas are usually made public from 5 to 6 months old, when they can walk well, consume bamboo, have some immunity, and adapt to the external environment.

Instead, until the public opening, Everland plans to continuously share the baby panda’s growth process and recent status through official YouTube, blog, and other SNS channels to communicate with customers.

Gang Cheolwon, the Everland keeper in charge of the pandas, said, "I am very happy that Aibao and Lubao, who have lived together for over 4 years, have become parents," adding, "I hope the public can forget their tiring daily lives for a moment with the news of the baby panda’s birth and receive the hopeful energy of new life."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.