Without him, we would not have Hua Mei and her kids.
Shi Shi, Hua Mei’s father, passed away at Guangzhou Zoo at 20:20 on Saturday, 5 July 2008.
I was honoured to have seen him twice - the first time at San Diego Zoo in May 2001 and the second time at Guangzhou Zoo in September 2007.
Rest in peace, dear Shi Shi. Your work on earth is done.
Shi Shi, San Diego Zoo, May 2001:
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Shi Shi, Guangzhou Zoo, September 2007:
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Bifengxia Panda Base will soon hear the pitter-patter of tiny furry black and white feet. The Base, which is usually home to elderly pandas and younger pandas on “holiday” from the annual breeding season at Wolong, has just announced the birth of its first panda cubs.
The cubs, twins born to 12-year-old Guo Guo, are the first panda cubs to be born after the May 12 (dubbed 512) earthquake, and also the first to be born for the current panda season around the world.
What makes their birth even more special is the fact that their mother had endured an exhausting 100-kilometre evacuation journey from the damaged Wolong Panda Centre to Bifengxia Panda Base in Ya’an Province last month. Upon arrival, she was put under round-the-clock care in Ya’an by the expert panda team worried that the journey might have affected her pregnancy.
Obviously, it hasn’t. The first cub weighed in at 170 grams while the second cub is yet to be weighed as it is still under its mother’s care.
The arrival of Guo Guo’s cubs gives hope to more cubs on the way soon.
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