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Bing and Hua, the Zoo’s couple of pandas |
Since the couple of bears on loan from China arrived in September, they have become the attraction of the Zoo and Aquarium of Madrid
They arrived in September accompanied by the four professional –two caregivers and two veterinarians- who are responsible for them in the facilities of the Zoo and Aquarium of Madrid. These young panda are the successors of Chu Lin (treasure among bamboos), who lived 14 years, but they are not only expected to achieve fill the void left by his predecessor, but also are expected to have offspring.
Bing Xing -star of ice- is an attractive 7 years old and 150 kilos of weight male, and Hua Zui Ba - flower mouth- is a beautiful 4 years old and 97 kilograms of weight female. As noted Chang Zhi, director of the Center for Reproduction and Research Chengdu Giant Pandas: “I think they’ll have children in Spain, but that will have to wait for the breeding season, in the spring”.
It is spring and that since their arrival they have become the attraction of the Zoo of Madrid, but today, more than never, they are permanently in the spotlight of hundreds of enthusiasts who want a panda breeding in Madrid. Veterinarians have had to eliminate the backlog in physiology and behavior of the pandas, while caregivers had to manage to bring kilos and kilos of bamboo to feed these animals.
Independent prairies, a camera for the maintenance of bamboo, air conditioning in summer and heating in winter, laboratories dedicated exclusively to monitoring the health of these animals serve to make it easier to stay pandas in Madrid.
In order to achieve captive breeding, zoo veterinarians are tracking the female hormone to facilitate copulation once there is zeal.
“Bing Xing is very attractive, very large, with a very beautiful face and figure”. From his mother, Bing Bing, has taken the surname -literally, ice, although it has connotations of wealth-, and his father, Ha Nan, one of the most offspring male from the center over, “a good genetic inheritance”. “We called him Xing as first name, star, because he is a gentleman, that’s why people love him so much”, said Chang.
She, Hua Zui Ba, is unique because of those black spots around the mouth since she was born, four years ago. Hence its name, mouth, while the surname, Hua, flower, refers to its beauty. “It's a very sexual female”, said Chang, “despite its youth, it’s ready to have children”.
The assignment agreement is for a minimum of five years, although it is not ruled out that Bing and Hua remain to live forever in Madrid. Chang did not want to specify the donation to be made to its center Parques Reunidos, which manages the Zoo of Madrid, but the Royal House emphasizes that the assignment for itself, already represents “a gesture of deference by the Government in Beijing on the occasion the visit of the Kings”.
Bing and Hua will not be the first pandas living in Madrid. In 1978, the then Chinese agent Deng Xiaoping gave the monarchs another couple, Shao-Shao and Chang-Chang, who lived in the Zoo until his death, and that despite they could not have its own offspring, the female was artificially inseminated, with the sperm of a male of London Zoo. Chu-Lin, the little panda born at facilities in Madrid, became not only the most beloved animal on the park, but in the first giant panda born in captivity in Europe.
Currently, it is estimated that there are about 1,600 pandas in the mountain regions of China, about 200 in captivity and many others scattered zoos in the world. The deforestation, poaching and reproductive problems, leading to low birth of this species, which is in danger of extinction. Hopefully, the arrival of this pair of giant panda bears conducive to the birth of pups in the hope that the growth of pandas never ends.
Useful Information
- Place: Zoo Aquarium of Madrid
- Date: year round
- Schedule:
- - From February 11th to March 30th:
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- - Monday through Friday from 11 to 18 hours
- - Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 11 to 19 hours
- - Days 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 March 1030 to 20 hours
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- - From March 31st to June 1st:
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- Price: EUR 16.90 adults; children (3 to 7 years) and seniors EUR 13.70; under 3 years of age, for free; discounts for large families with ID
- Address: Casa de Campo s/n; Nacional V, exit 5ª
- Telephone: 91 512 37 70
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