Feature: Moscow Zoo celebrates birthdays of panda couple with cultural extravaganza
The Moscow Zoo celebrated giant pandas Ding Ding and Ru Yi's birthdays with festive Chinese-themed events, highlighting their cultural significance and the growing public affection for their playful cub, Katyusha.
MOSCOW, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Moscow Zoo erupted in cheerful Mandarin choruses of "shengri kuaile!" ("Happy Birthday!") as staff led visitors in birthday celebrations for resident giant pandas Ding Ding and Ru Yi.
Marking their sixth year in Moscow under a 15-year lease agreement with China, the beloved panda pair received back-to-back birthday festivities this week. The zoo hosted Wednesday's celebration for Ding Ding and Thursday's for Ru Yi, launching a series of "pandaful" activities.
Visitors were swept up in an unexpected celebration Wednesday as a vibrant dragon dance procession led them from the zoo's entrance to the panda pavilion.
The lively parade created a carnival atmosphere, with crowds cheering and laughing as the undulating dragon wove through the pathways. Some attendees showed their panda passion, sporting fuzzy black-and-white headbands or T-shirts adorned with Chinese pandas' images.
Eye-catching at each celebration was an elaborate cake made of ice, bamboo and fruits, crowned with symbolic bamboo numerals: an "8" for Ding Ding and a "9" for Ru Yi, marking the pandas' respective ages in a display combining Chinese tradition with zoological enrichment.
The pandas' birthday surprises delighted both the animals and spectators. Ding Ding got a blue-and-gray paper robot with hidden snacks inside, and Ru Yi was given a sailboat decorated with bamboo tubes. On Thursday, children at the scene crafted a carrot-shaped pillow for Ru Yi, stuffing it with snacks such as fruits and bamboo shoots.
Outside the glass curtain wall of the pandas' yard crowds gathered to watch the pandas and take pictures with cameras or cell phones, jockeying for glimpses of the two birthday stars. Each playful roll or clumsy bamboo bite from Ding Ding and Ru Yi triggered waves of delighted laughter.
"Our staff put love into the special cakes while making them with bamboo twigs, various treats, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes. For the pandas, a cake isn't just a toy -- it helps develop their skills, letting them immerse themselves in natural behaviors: searching, crushing, tearing," Svetlana Akulova, the zoo's general director, told Xinhua.
Dedicated zookeepers have gone to great lengths to enrich the pandas' daily life in their enclosure, such as adding edible decorations or hiding food in new toys, to refresh them, keeping both their minds and bodies active.
The pandas come from different giant panda conservation and research centers in China's southwestern Sichuan Province. The female, Ding Ding, was born in the Wolong Shenshuping base, and the older male, Ru Yi, born in the Bifengxia base in Ya'an.
The couple arrived in Moscow in April 2019. And in August 2023, Ding Ding gave birth to their daughter Katyusha.
Akulova marveled at Ding Ding's natural parenting: "She's an incredible mother. She teaches 'Katyusha' all the survival skills, just as they would in the wild."
She depicts the little cub Katyusha as a rising star to captivate more hearts for the Chinese giant panda.
"It is Katyusha's fiery personality, deep love for her mom, zest for life, playful energy, and that tomboyish spirit … these are what have made all Russians fall in love with such wonderful creatures!" she said.
On the dedicated efforts of bringing her up, the zoo chief said, "The growth of 'Katyusha' follows a scientific plan, and I'm confident we've fully delivered on the roadmap developed with our Chinese partners."
Akulova explained that zookeepers made the difficult decision to separate Ding Ding from her cub after observing classic signs that the panda mom was competing for territory.
Ding Ding has made a rapid post-partum recovery, meeting all health benchmarks for potential reproduction next year. "If our Chinese partners agree, we'll reunite her with Ru Yi then," Akulova said.
Under the panda conservation and research agreement signed with China, a joint working group -- including veterinarians on both sides -- has maintained regular mutual communications, she said. "Our Chinese counterparts provide advice and expertise on panda breeding."
In celebrating the pandas' birthdays, the zoo has made a packed schedule from July 28 to Aug. 3, featuring interactions with keepers, bamboo culinary workshops and educational lectures about pandas.
Zookeeper Tatiana Voronina captivated visitors with an interactive session on panda nutrition outside the enclosure.
"Pandas have sparked more Russian interest in China and its culture," she told Xinhua. "After seeing them, people often ask us: 'Tell us, what other cute animals come from China?'"■